Former CIA officer Joshua Schulte has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for leaking classified hacking tools to WikiLeaks and possessing child abuse images.
Schulte was found guilty of passing on the CIA’s “Vault 7” tools, described as one of the most significant leaks in U.S. history.
He shared over 8,700 documents to WikiLeaks in 2017, leading to the largest data leak in the agency’s history.
The sentencing includes charges of espionage, computer hacking, contempt of court, making false statements to the FBI, and possession of child abuse images.
Schulte’s actions were described as a betrayal of the country and causing substantial damage to national security.
He worked for the CIA’s elite hacking unit from 2012 to 2016 and sent the cyber tools to WikiLeaks after quitting his job, leading to the publication of classified data in March 2017.
