A former CIA officer, Joshua Adam Schulte, has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for espionage, computer hacking and handling child pornography in what is considered one of the largest data breaches in U.S. history.

The federal court in New York City announced the verdict, highlighting Schulte's illegal transmission of stolen information to WikiLeaks, constituting the "largest data breach in CIA history."

Among his offenses, Schulte provided WikiLeaks with an over 8,500-page document revealing details on how the spy agency infiltrated Apple and Android software, along with smart TVs.

U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: "Joshua Schulte betrayed his country by committing some of the most brazen, heinous crimes of espionage in American history. He caused untold damage to our national security in his quest for revenge against the CIA for its response to Schulte’s security breaches while employed there."

Digital Pearl Harbor

The prosecutors in the case said that the material released by Schulte significantly and detrimentally impacted the CIA's intelligence-gathering capabilities. They stressed that Schulte's actions threatened CIA personnel, projects and documents, resulting in millions of dollars in damage to the organization.

"Mr. Schulte severely harmed U.S. national security and directly risked the lives of CIA personnel, persisting in his efforts even after his arrest," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen.

During the trial, the ex-CIA deputy director of Digital Innovation said Schulte’s actions amounted to a "Digital Pearl Harbor," referring to the devastating 1941 Japanese attack on U.S. naval forces in Hawaii.

Schulte, who denied the accusations against him, was found guilty in three separate trials, in 2020, 2022 and 2023, on such charges as illegally gathering and transmitting national defense information, making false statements, and receiving and transporting child pornography.