Former CIA Hacker Joshua Schulte Sentenced to 40 Years for Massive WikiLeaks Data Breach

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Former CIA officer Joshua Schulte has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for his role in leaking classified hacking tools to WikiLeaks and possessing child abuse images. The sentencing comes after Schulte was found guilty of the charges at three separate federal trials in New York in 2020, 2022, and 2023.

 

Schulte, 35, was accused of leaking the CIA's "Vault 7" tools, a collection enabling intelligence officers to hack smartphones and use them as listening devices. The leak, described by prosecutors as one of the most "brazen" in US history, involved sharing 8,761 documents with WikiLeaks in 2017, constituting the largest data breach in the CIA's history.

 

Despite denying the allegations, Schulte was convicted on various counts, including espionage, computer hacking, contempt of court, making false statements to the FBI, and possession of child abuse images. US Attorney Damian Williams stated, "Joshua Schulte betrayed his country by committing some of the most brazen, heinous crimes of espionage in American history."

 

Evidence presented during the trial revealed that Schulte worked as a software developer in the Center for Cyber Intelligence, engaged in cyber espionage against terrorist organizations and foreign governments. Motivated by workplace disputes and anger, he transmitted stolen information to WikiLeaks in 2016, causing significant damage to national security, according to prosecutors.

 

The leak immediately compromised the CIA's ability to gather foreign intelligence, putting personnel, programs, and assets at risk and costing the agency hundreds of millions of dollars. WikiLeaks began publishing classified data from the files in 2017, further amplifying the impact of Schulte's actions.

 

During the investigation, the FBI found Schulte had lied to agents about his involvement. Subsequent searches of his apartment uncovered tens of thousands of images of child sexual abuse materials. Even after his arrest in 2018, Schulte attempted to transmit more information from jail, smuggling in a phone and trying to send a reporter details about CIA cyber groups.

 

The sentencing marks the culmination of a high-profile case that exposed the extent of Schulte's betrayal, resulting in severe consequences for both national security and his personal freedom.

 

03.02.24

Source

 

[Tug]

Good!

[Skipalongcassidy]

This will be the death knell for whistleblowers and freedom... 

[Tug]

20 minutes ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

This will be the death knell for whistleblowers and freedom... 

ya don’t rat out your country’s secrets period 

[KhunLA]

3 minutes ago, Tug said:

ya don’t rat out your country’s secrets period 

I obviously think the opposite.

[sirineou]

9 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

I obviously think the opposite.

It does not matter whether  it is the moral thing to do  or not. 

The law is that you don't.  and if you do and get caught you pay the price.

You can not have Law a la carte.  If the law is bad , change the law . 

You can not have people arbitrarily deciding which laws to follow and which  to not, for what I hope are obvious reasons. 

[KhunLA]

On 2/3/2024 at 8:01 AM, sirineou said:

It does not matter whether  it is the moral thing to do  or not. 

The law is that you don't.  and if you do and get caught you pay the price.

You can not have Law a la carte.  If the law is bad , change the law . 

You can not have people arbitrarily deciding which laws to follow and which  to not, for what I hope are obvious reasons. 

You do realize, what criminal activity the whistleblowers expose.   Unless you don't mind the gov't agencies spying on you without your permission, or legal processes guaranteed in the 4th Amendment.

 

The gov't criminals have a different definition for breaking the law, and a nice loophole, by simply labeling something 'classified'.

 

Kind of null and voids the 'whistleblower law/protection'.  Just another form of censorship and control.

Edited February 5 by stats
no weblink image removed

[sirineou]

3 minutes ago, KhunLA said:

You do realize, what criminal activity the whistleblowers expose.   Unless you don't mind the gov't agencies spying on you without your permission, or legal processes guaranteed in the 4th Amendment.

 

This is inconsequential to the issue at hand. He took a bullet for his country. and for that we should be thankful. Perhaps a future president would pardon him, and if he was I would be very happy.

   As I said, if the law is not good, it should be changed, but until it is ,it's the law, 

There was no choice  than that he was prosecuted, and if what he was found guilty of was true ,that he is convicted. 

No choice at all regardless of our disappointment. 

 

And if what the goverment is doing is crim inal under the existing laws, and what he exposed is true, (and I believe it is)  then the criminals in the goverment should also be prosecuted.  

[Chomper Higgot]

3 hours ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

This will be the death knell for whistleblowers and freedom... 

Well for those that are into child pornography anyway.

 

 

Edited February 3 by Chomper Higgot

[new2here]

I’m of two minds.. I agree that legitimate “whistle blowing” is a good thing as it can often uncover misdeeds that otherwise wouldn’t be uncovered or take much longer to discover and potentially cause much more harm.. and legitimate whistle blowing should continue to be legally protected…

 

On the other hand, I am ALSO of the mindset that deliberate disclose of legitimate state secrets - and yes, I do believe that state entities can and do have legitimate secrets that deserve legal protection- should be a crime and punished severely.

 

So, I guess where is the line between the two - when does otherwise legitimate whistleblowing become espionage or disclosure of protected state secrets?

Edited February 3 by new2here

[ThaiFelix]

The truth will not be tolerated: especially when the US of Lies is concerned.

[Jenkins9039]

Always curious how someone is found with tens of thousands of child abuse images but their internet server provider didn't see this before the indictment....

 

 

 

[stargrazer9889]

I am curious , in what year was the 4th ammendment written?

[zhounan]

We need more Schulte.

[Walker88]

On 2/3/2024 at 8:16 AM, KhunLA said:

You do realize, what criminal activity the whistleblowers expose.   Unless you don't mind the gov't agencies spying on you without your permission, or legal processes guaranteed in the 4th Amendment.

 

The gov't criminals have a different definition for breaking the law, and a nice loophole, by simply labeling something 'classified'.

 

Kind of null and voids the 'whistleblower law/protection'.  Just another form of censorship and control.

Don't get carried away.

 

What you think goes on does not go on. While I understand the tendency toward paranoia, reality is quite a different thing than you seem to think.

 

First, the guy wasn't a whistleblower. He wanted to monetize what he stole.

 

Second, while the agency engaged in some nasty practices in the past, everything changed in 1978 with the Church Commission. The rules became almost ponderous. Here's just one example:

 

Imagine a known terrorist is spotted in an airport. Maybe you already have access to his phone, so any plans he might have might have been revealed. The second he boards a plane destined for the US, he becomes a US Person and thus the agency cannot monitor him. Even if he used the airplane phone, or tied into plane wifi and sent messages, the agency and NSA cannot monitor anything.

 

The hacking tools this guy revealed were not used on US persons. They were used on foreign targets, including leaders or acolytes of hostile nations, terrorists, or international criminals (those by the bureau).

 

Nobody in the agency cares a lick about you, unless you join a terrorist group or try to sell fissionable material or engage in illegal arms sales---and you are inadvertently picked up because a known int'l bad guy's commo is being monitored. The second it is determined you are a US person (engaged in nasty stuff), the intel is turned over to the bureau, as crime by US Persons is their gig. If you are not engaged in anything untoward, the agency couldn't care less you even exist. Nobody wants to "control you".

 

The other famous leaker (Edward Snowden) was a low level employee with limited access and who tried to justify his goofing around by claiming things that were simply untrue. He is now living in Russia, and will be alive so long as he is of some use to putin. A previous guy who revealed secrets and eventually fled to Moscow (Edward Lee Howard) died in a "fall in his home". He had outlived his usefulness to putin.

 

Edited February 5 by stats
unsourced claim removed

[Walker88]

On 2/3/2024 at 10:01 PM, Bday Prang said:

 

 

 

Ironically, back when tech was almost non-existent, guys like J Edgar Hoover did behave badly. With the advent of incredible technology, those who possess it are prohibited from doing what many people think they do regularly. There are rules, and internally everybody monitors everybody. Even when a Schulte is discovered, he is given some rope to see if he is cooperating with an outside source. Nobody put anything on his computer. The agency initially failed when doing the psych assessment they do, which should have revealed his proclivities, but for those with psychopathy (about 5% of the human population), they can slip by.

 

In the agency, CIMC has systems that remotely monitor every single computer access. If someone is trying to access things unrelated to his position, the system throws out a warning, and the individual is subsequently questioned. Also, employees are subject to swirls (lie detector) anytime. Like all folks with clearances, they also must file a financial report every years listing all of their assets.

 

If you're a private citizen, and not engaging in anything untoward, nobody is monitoring you. You are completely free and invisible. If you work for the agency, however, just about every aspect of your life is monitored.

[Walker88]

15 minutes ago, zhounan said:

We need more Schulte.

Kiddie porn fans?

[Skipalongcassidy]

16 hours ago, new2here said:

I’m of two minds.. I agree that legitimate “whistle blowing” is a good thing as it can often uncover misdeeds that otherwise wouldn’t be uncovered or take much longer to discover and potentially cause much more harm.. and legitimate whistle blowing should continue to be legally protected…

 

On the other hand, I am ALSO of the mindset that deliberate disclose of legitimate state secrets - and yes, I do believe that state entities can and do have legitimate secrets that deserve legal protection- should be a crime and punished severely.

 

So, I guess where is the line between the two - when does otherwise legitimate whistleblowing become espionage or disclosure of protected state secrets?

Maybe... as in this case... what they expose is proven to be illegal and immoral... especially when it is big government 

[Tug]

9 hours ago, stargrazer9889 said:

I am curious , in what year was the 4th ammendment written?

Way back when they hung people who willfully blabbed the nations secrets 

[Morch]

9 hours ago, zhounan said:

We need more Schulte.

 

Maybe with catchier names, though.

No one's going to make a movie called 'Schulte'.

[Chomper Higgot]

12 hours ago, Jenkins9039 said:

Always curious how someone is found with tens of thousands of child abuse images but their internet server provider didn't see this before the indictment....

 

 

 

Especially when the perp is an IT hacker completely unable to hide is IP address and online activity or use any end-to-end encryption.

[john donson]

conspiracy yesterday, reality today...

 

40 years, well if you insult, by accident or not (ignorance) the wrong people, you can get 50+ here

[johng]

On 2/3/2024 at 11:00 PM, Walker88 said:

If you're a private citizen, and not engaging in anything untoward, nobody is monitoring you. You are completely free and invisible.

 

Amazing you would even say that, let alone believe it !

 

Edward Snowden and Julian Assange  ring any bells ?

[Morch]

8 hours ago, johng said:

 

Amazing you would even say that, let alone believe it !

 

Edward Snowden and Julian Assange  ring any bells ?

 

Snowden worked for the NSA.

Assange is (a) not a USA citizen, and (b) was publishing information damaging to USA interests.

 

Read that part about 'private citizen' and 'not engaging in anything untoward'.

[uttradit]

On 2/3/2024 at 7:40 AM, Tug said:

ya don’t rat out your country’s secrets period 

What secrets?

[uttradit]

On 2/3/2024 at 1:43 PM, new2here said:

I’m of two minds.. I agree that legitimate “whistle blowing” is a good thing as it can often uncover misdeeds that otherwise wouldn’t be uncovered or take much longer to discover and potentially cause much more harm.. and legitimate whistle blowing should continue to be legally protected…

 

On the other hand, I am ALSO of the mindset that deliberate disclose of legitimate state secrets - and yes, I do believe that state entities can and do have legitimate secrets that deserve legal protection- should be a crime and punished severely.

 

So, I guess where is the line between the two - when does otherwise legitimate whistleblowing become espionage or disclosure of protected state secrets?

Really think so? Bunch of fascist crooks

 

https://www.amazon.com/CIA-Organized-Crime-Illegal-Operations/dp/0997287012

[Walker88]

49 minutes ago, uttradit said:

Really think so? Bunch of fascist crooks

 

https://www.amazon.com/CIA-Organized-Crime-Illegal-Operations/dp/0997287012

I'm sure you're quite the expert on the agency.

 

Spent a lot of time in Langley? What is/was your badge number?

 

trump wanted to use the capabilities of the agency to spy on domestic critics and political opponents. The lawyers of both the White House and agency had to disabuse him of his fascist, dictatorial tendency.

 

If all you know is what you read in pulp fiction, you know nothing about what the agency does.

[Skipalongcassidy]

4 hours ago, Walker88 said:

 

 

trump wanted to use the capabilities of the agency to spy on domestic critics and political opponents. The lawyers of both the White House and agency had to disabuse him of his fascist, dictatorial tendency.

 

What is your source link for this drivel please...???

[uttradit]

7 hours ago, Walker88 said:

I'm sure you're quite the expert on the agency.

 

Spent a lot of time in Langley? What is/was your badge number?

 

trump wanted to use the capabilities of the agency to spy on domestic critics and political opponents. The lawyers of both the White House and agency had to disabuse him of his fascist, dictatorial tendency.

 

If all you know is what you read in pulp fiction, you know nothing about what the agency does.

The experts wrote books on them. They hired nazis and copied their tactics.

 

 

[uttradit]

7 hours ago, Walker88 said:

all you know is what you read in pulp fiction, you know nothing about what the agency does.

Please research things. Save me from proving you wrong

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/27/us/in-cold-war-us-spy-agencies-used-1000-nazis.html