A public official was found stealing sensitive data to the enemy states relating to information on the warships which were powered by nuclear technology. He was arrested red-handed when he was asking the purchaser to pay the money in Monero – a virtual currency. Unaware that he was talking to an undercover agent from the FBI, he told the undercover officer that he did not want to take risks of accepting payment into Bitcoin because it is too dangerous. He will now be facing charges of corruption and, above all, espionage.
Corruption is a menace but espionage is something that states cannot withstand. It is an act of deceiving your own country and your countrymen for somebody else’s interest. The act of espionage has recently been witnessed in the United States of America.
A public official, who was employed at the Navy’s Department, was caught selling sensitive information to the enemy state. However, before he could sell the information, he was arrested because he failed to realize that his contact was an undercover agent.
The announcement of the arrest of a public official was made by the Department of Justice on 10th October 2021. DOJ revealed the name of the person accusing of selling sensitive data as “Jonathan Toebbe”. Initially, FBI advised that his name shouldn’t be disclosed because the matter is serious. However, the FBI disclosed the name of the person who has been arrested.. But it was obvious that the accused was in possession of sensitive information because he was working as an engineer at the Navy’s Department.
Prior to his arrest, he had already sold sensitive information to the enemy states at multiple times. His arrest was made by the officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. FBI has, in the meantime, imposed charges of espionage and corruption upon the arrested official.
It was confirmed that Toebbe, the man facing the charges of espionage and corruption was part of Naval Nuclear Propulsion. From day one Toebbe was in possession of security clearance which allowed him access to the data of the Department of Defense. He also had access to information which was highly confidential and sensitive. It is here where he decided to go against his oath and misused the accessible data by stealing it and selling it internationally.
According to DOJ, Toebbe wasn’t working alone. In fact, he had partnered his wife in the data theft and its onward selling. FBI, on the other hand, has stated that Toebbe was selling data relating to nuclear-powered to an interested party abroad. According to FBI, the purchaser was from the energy industry. Other than that no further information has been provided either by the Navy’s Department.
