A systems administrator working as a contractor for the US military has been sentenced to 10 years in jail for stealing classified defense documents and conspiracy to commit naturalization fraud.
Christopher R. Glenn, 34, from South Florida, accessed a classified Department of Defense network unauthorized while working as a sysadmin at Soto Cano Air Base in Honduras, according to the Department of Justice.
After stealing intelligence reports and military plans from Department of Defense and US Southern Command’s (SOUTHCOM’s) Joint Task Force-Bravo, Glenn encrypted the files and put them on a storage device at his home.
It’s not known what his ultimate aim was in taking such extreme risks.
However, Glenn has also been convicted, along with his Iraqi-born wife, of conspiracy to commit naturalization fraud.
He’s said to have fabricated fraudulent documents and submitted false statements to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (UCIS).
Court reports from last year claimed that the two met on a Muslim dating website during the time Glenn was divorcing his first wife.
At that time, she was working in Australia for the government there. According to prosecutors, Google Chats between the two revealed that her allegiance was to whichever country could give her the highest security clearance.
“Christopher Glenn exploited his position as a cleared military contractor and systems administrator to steal classified US military secrets,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security, John Carlin, in a statement.
“In doing so, he violated the unique trust placed in him by the Department of Defense. Insider threats by trusted employees who exploit computer access are a significant danger to US national security and this sentencing shows it will not be tolerated.”
The case is another example of the insider threat facing organizations across the globe—especially from IT contractors working in the military.
Although US officials appear to have gotten their man this time around, it will doubtless raise questions of how many more Glenns, or Edward Snowdens, there are working in classified government roles.