CIA warns of foreign firms hiring ex-officers to break into U.S. computer systems
Three former U.S. intelligence or military officers, Marc Baier, Ryan Adams and Daniel Gericke — are accused by the U.S. Justice Department of working as senior managers at a UAE-based company that conducted hacking operations on behalf of the government, the Associated Press reported.
Prosecutors say the men provided hacking and intelligence-gathering systems that were used to break into computers in the United States and elsewhere in the world.
The Justice Department alleges that the men committed computer fraud and violated export control laws by providing defense services without the required license. The case also appears to be part of a growing trend highlighted earlier this year by the CIA of foreign governments hiring former U.S. intelligence operatives to bolster their own spycraft — a practice officials have said risks exposing U.S. secrets.
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