Peter Williams, Ex-ASD, Pleads Guilty to Selling Eight Exploits to Russia

Peter Williams, Ex-ASD, Pleads Guilty to Selling Exploits to Russia

The former general manager of a U.S. defense contractor, Peter Williams, admitted guilt for selling eight sensitive cyber-exploit components to the Russian zero-day broker known as Operation Zero. This broker purchases exploits from developers and resells them to non-NATO entities, including the Russian government.

Background and Employment

Williams, an Australian national, was employed by Australia's signals intelligence agency ASD from approximately 2007 until the mid-2010s. He later worked at Linchpin Labs, which merged with Azimuth Security to form L3Harris Trenchant, the vulnerability and exploit development subsidiary of L3Harris. At the time of his arrest, Williams served as general manager there.

Details of the Theft and Investigation

The thefts occurred over a three-year period starting in 2022 and reportedly earned Williams $1.3 million. The U.S. Department of Justice has not disclosed the specific exploits involved. However, TechCrunch reported that Trenchant had teams developing zero-day vulnerabilities for Google Chrome and iOS, and was investigating a possible leak of company tools.

An unnamed security researcher was dismissed in early 2025, allegedly for involvement in leaking Google Chrome exploits.

Summary

Peter Williams's plea reveals a significant breach in cybersecurity involving high-value exploits sold to Russia, highlighting risks within trusted defense contracting environments.

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Lawfare Lawfare — 2025-11-01

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