Ex-L3Harris Executive Gets 87 Months for Selling 8 Zero-Days to Russian Broker

Peter Williams, 39, sentenced to 87 months prison for stealing L3Harris zero-day exploits. Australian GM sold 8 components to Matrix/Operation Zero for $1.3M cryptocurrency. Dealings spanned 2022-2025 compromising U.S. defense capabilities. 

Williams led Trenchant, L3Harris cybersecurity unit serving Five Eyes partners. Portable hard drives exfiltrated exploits from Sydney and Washington D.C. secure networks. Encrypted channels delivered stolen tools to non-NATO reseller.

October guilty plea confirmed 8 exploits compromised. Prosecutors calculated $35M damages to irreplaceable R&D. Judge Loren AliKhan ordered $1.3M forfeiture plus house and luxury goods. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro called crime national security betrayal.

Treasury sanctioned Operation Zero confirming Russian government clients. Broker advertised hacking tools excluding NATO customers explicitly. Millions of devices potentially exposed worldwide from stolen capabilities.

Physical exfiltration bypassed sophisticated network controls completely. Crypto payments funded lavish lifestyle demonstrating clear profit motive. Defense contractor insider threat paradigm established post-conviction.

Penalty Breakdown Table

Case Timeline

• 2022-2025: Exploit theft period
• October 2025: Guilty plea entered
• February 2026: 87-month sentence
• Treasury sanctions: Operation Zero

Zero-day markets directly fund nation-state operations. Australian national exploited U.S. contractor trust relationships. Physical media represents persistent exfiltration vector.

Prosecution Highlights

• National security software commoditization
• Five Eyes intelligence capabilities compromised
• Millions of devices potentially accessible
• Irreplaceable R&D investments destroyed
• Crypto-funded luxury lifestyle

Defense sector insider monitoring intensifies post-sentencing. Russian broker sanctions limit procurement pipelines. Physical security gaps persist despite network hardening.

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