An Australian national, Peter Williams, was sentenced to 87 months in U.S. prison after stealing at least eight cyber exploits from his employer and selling them to the Russian broker Operation Zero. The theft caused $35 million in losses to the defense contractor L3Harris’s Trenchant division, impacted U.S. and allied government customers, and resulted in forfeiture of $1.3 million plus three years of supervised release. #OperationZero #L3Harris
Keypoints
- Peter Williams stole at least eight cyber exploits between April 2022 and June 2025.
- He sold the exploits to Operation Zero, a Russian zero-day acquisition broker.
- Williams received cryptocurrency payments and used the proceeds to buy luxury goods, property, and vacations.
- The theft caused $35 million in losses and affected U.S. and allied government customers.
- In October 2025 he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 87 months, three years supervised release, and forfeiture of $1.3 million and property.