Current:Home > reviewsJohnathan Walker:Ex-NSA staffer gets 21 years for trying to sell defense information to 'friends' in Russia -Zenith Investment School
Johnathan Walker:Ex-NSA staffer gets 21 years for trying to sell defense information to 'friends' in Russia
PredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Center View
Date:2025-04-08 16:17:11
The Johnathan Walkerletter from the former National Security Agency employee, written in Cyrillic characters, is not at all what you would expect to end up in the hands of a Russian agent.
“My friends!" Dalke told the purported operative, according to court documents. “I am very happy to finally provide this information to you . . . I look forward to our friendship and shared benefit."
Moments after Jareh Sebastian Dalke hit send, FBI agents arrested him. His supposed Russian handler was an undercover FBI agent and the operation was part of a sting operation that on Monday ended with Dalke getting a 21-year federal prison sentence for attempted espionage.
Dalke, 32, a former information systems security designer at the NSA, was heavily in debt with student loans and credit card debt. He said in what he thought were secret letters that he wanted $85,000 for sensitive national security information that he told his supposed contact would help Russia.
“This defendant, who had sworn an oath to defend our country, believed he was selling classified national security information to a Russian agent, when in fact, he was outing himself to the FBI,” Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said Monday. “This sentence demonstrates that that those who seek to betray our country will be held accountable for their crimes.”
Ex-NSA agent drowning in debt
Dalke, of Colorado Springs, said in his contacts with the undercover agent that he sought to help Russia because he “questioned [U.S.] role in damage to the world in the past and by mixture of curiosity for secrets and a desire to cause change.”
"There is an opportunity to help balance scales of the world while also tending to my own needs," Dalke told the agent, according to court papers. He requested payment in cryptocurrency because “as in these things privacy is extremely important.”
Dalke had nearly $84,000 of credit card and student loan debt, according to an affidavit by FBI Special Agent Rebecca Shaw.
After working at the NSA for less than a month, Dalke handed in his resignation, indicating it was due to a family illness and that the agency was unable to grant him nine months off as he requested.
Weeks after leaving the NSA, Dalke sent excerpts in August 2022 from three classified documents, including a threat assessment of sensitive U.S. defense capabilities, to prove his access to information and "willingness to share," according to a federal affidavit. Shaw wrote that Dalke held a top-secret security clearance, signing "a lifetime binding non-disclosure agreement" to guard protected government information.
Dalke transferred four additional classified files to the covert FBI agent on Sept. 28, 2022, the Justice Department said, and he was arrested moments later. Dalke pleaded guilty to the charges in October.
Established in 1952, the NSA leads the United States government in cryptology and is a combat support agency responsible for securing military communications and data, as well as providing electronic intelligence.
A spokesperson for the NSA declined to comment when reached by USA TODAY. Dalke’s attorney listed in court records did not immediately return requests for comment Monday.
Breaches are rare but treacherous
Javed Ali, a former senior official for the FBI and Department of Homeland Security, told USA TODAY there are multiple potential motivating factors for divulging classified information. There hasn’t been a clear common denominator among espionage cases which makes it hard to “spot in advance," Ali said, but money, discontent with government policy and lack of self-worth have all played roles in previous cases.
“It’s still rare, but when it happens, it can cause serious risk to national security," Ali said.
Every time an agent attempts – and sometimes succeeds – in a breach, the agency traces back its steps and reevaluates what went wrong to prevent a repeat case.
“It doesn’t mean you're ever going to be 100% immune from this type of activity, but you try to plug the holes that you know were compromised, and then you also have to trust your employees to do the right thing.”
veryGood! (7397)
Related
- A White House order claims to end 'censorship.' What does that mean?
- First cargo ship passes through newly opened channel in Baltimore since bridge collapse
- Why Cleveland Browns don't have first-round pick in NFL draft (again), and who joins them
- Kaley Cuoco Details How Daughter Matilda Is Already Reaching New Heights
- Don't let hackers fool you with a 'scam
- Missouri House backs legal shield for weedkiller maker facing thousands of cancer-related lawsuits
- Ranking the best players available in the college football transfer portal
- Charlie Woods attempting to qualify for 2024 US Open at Florida event
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- Massachusetts House launches budget debate, including proposed spending on shelters, public transit
Ranking
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- US growth likely slowed last quarter but still pointed to a solid economy
- Firefighters fully contain southern New Jersey forest fire that burned hundreds of acres
- Marine in helicopter unit dies at Camp Pendleton during 'routine operations'
- Bodycam footage shows high
- Nasty Gal's Insane Sitewide Sale Includes Up to 95% Off: Shop Tops Starting at $4 & More
- Marine in helicopter unit dies at Camp Pendleton during 'routine operations'
- Yes, 'Baby Reindeer' on Netflix is about real people. Inside Richard Gadd's true story
Recommendation
Travis Hunter, the 2
Fifth arrest made in connection to deaths of 2 Kansas women
Nasty Gal's Insane Sitewide Sale Includes Up to 95% Off: Shop Tops Starting at $4 & More
8 years after the National Enquirer’s deal with Donald Trump, the iconic tabloid is limping badly
All That You Wanted to Know About She’s All That
County in rural New Mexico extends agreement with ICE for immigrant detention amid criticism
Hyundai recalls 31,440 Genesis vehicles for fuel pump issue: Here's which cars are affected
5 things workers should know about the new federal ban on noncompete agreements