American citizen accused of stealing digital data from the NSA
Harold Thomas Martin III
1964 (age5657)
Harold Thomas Martin III (born November 1964) is a former contractor for Booz Allen Hamilton who has been accused of stealing approximately 50 terabytes of data from the National Security Agency (NSA).[4][5]
Investigators have reportedly had difficulty determining if Martin was engaged in conventional espionage or digital hoarding.[6] Public reporting has indicated that United States government agencies apparently failed to note or effectively respond to a number of issues with Martin's security practices and behaviors over a period of 10 to 20 years.[7][8]
Martin earned a bachelor's degree in economics and math from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1989, and a master's degree in information systems from George Mason University in 2004.[9][10] At the time of his arrest, Martin was pursuing a PhD in Computing from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.[11][12] His research area was Virtual Interfaces for Exploration of Heterogeneous & Cloud Computing Architectures.[13][14]
Martin previously worked for Computer Sciences Corp and Tenacity Solutions.[15] Martin worked for the National Security Agency between 2012 and 2015, including spending some time with the elite Tailored Access Operations unit, albeit in a support capacity.[16]
Martin had previously served as a Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy, serving from 1987 until 2000.[17][18][19] He moved to the United States Navy Reserve, which was when he first received access to classified data.[20] In 2015, while still a Booz Allen Hamilton contractor, he was transferred to the Department of Defense's Office of Acquisition, Technology and Logistics (AT&L).[21]
While attempting to trace the source of the Shadow Brokers leak in the summer of 2016, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was alerted by the NSA to an internet post made by Martin, who allegedly communicated via the Twitter account @HAL_999999999.[22][23][24] Martin used Twitter to contact Russian-based Kaspersky Lab, a cyber-security firm, which in turn alerted the National Security Agency.[25][26] The Federal Bureau of Investigations used the information provided by Kaspersky researchers to obtain a search warrant of Martin's residence.[25]
Subsequently, according to the United States Department of Justice, the FBI discovered thousands of pages and terabytes of data of classified information in Martin's residence and personal vehicle, including classified computer code.[27][28][29] Martin is reported to have stolen the classified information simply by walking out of secure workplaces with it in his possession.[30] Prosecutors have stated that the stolen classified information includes the names of covert intelligence officers.[31]
According to the indictment, Martin stole materials from the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, the United States Cyber Command, the United States Department of Defense and the National Reconnaissance Office.[32][33] According to the prosecutors, there is no evidence that Martin actually accessed any of the files he stole.[34][35]
Martin was charged by the United States Department of Justice with "willful retention of national defense information".[36][37] Martin entered a plea of not guilty.[38][39] In an October 2016 hearing at the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Magistrate Judge A. David Copperthite sided with the prosecution in agreeing that Martin was a flight risk and would not be released pending trial.[40][41] The FBI's failure to provide Martin with a Miranda warning led to U.S. District Court Judge Richard Bennett rendering many of Martin's statements as inadmissible.[23]
Martin's defense attorneys argued that he suffered from mental health issues, of which his hoarding was a symptom.[42] Martin agreed to plead guilty in December 2017.[43][44] This was scheduled to occur on January 22, 2018.[45] Martin pled not guilty. According to the court's Memorandum Opinion dated December 3, 2018, Martin's trial date was scheduled for June 17, 2019.[22] On March 17, 2019, Martin agreed to plead guilty to "Willful Retention of National Defense Information," the deal called for nine years in prison, three years supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000.[46]
On July 19, 2019, Martin was sentenced to nine years in prison.[47]
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Harold T. Martin III - Wikipedia