How far would you go to get a good performance review? Would you breach national security to study codes off the clock in the comfort of your own home?
Pho, a 68-year-old former National Security Agency (NSA) employee residing in Maryland, worked as a Tailored Access Operations (TAO) developer. Pho was set to retire in a few years, and wanted to do so at a higher pay grade to increase pension payments. No one can fault Pho for that.
NSA Forced to Dump Years of Work
Former NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers sent a letter to the court stating that the materials Pho removed from the NSA “had significant negative impacts on the NSA mission, the NSA workforce, and the Intelligence Community as a whole.” The removal, and thereby breach of National Security, caused years of signals collection work to have to be abandoned, since none of the tools and techniques Pho removed from the NSA could ever be used again. According to Rogers, the NSA “was left with no choice but to abandon certain important initiatives, at great economic and operational costs.”
Is There a Tie to the Shadow Brokers Leaks?
It’s possible that the reason Rogers, and the judge, came down so hard on Pho was because of the Shadow Brokers leaks, though the NSA and Department of Justice have not specifically spelled out this tie.
Related Resources:
- Espionage Charges Leveled at Former NSA Contractor for Stealing Hacking Tools (FindLaw Technologist)
- The Cyberwars Have Just Begun, or Have They? (FindLaw Technologist)
- NSA to Stop Sifting Americans’ Email (FindLaw Technologist)
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