Intelligence agency IT specialist charged with attempting to provide classified information to foreign government
An IT specialist working for the Defense Intelligence Agency was arrested on Thursday and charged with attempting to provide classified information to a foreign government. The FBI launched an investigation into 28-year-old Nathan Laatsch in March after receiving a tip that he was willing to share classified information with a foreign government due to his disagreement with the values of the current administration.
The specific foreign country that Laatsch allegedly tried to contact was not disclosed in court documents. In communications with an undercover FBI agent posing as a representative of the foreign government, Laatsch reportedly transcribed classified information into a notepad at his desk over a three-day period. Video evidence from inside the DIA facility showed Laatsch writing multiple pages of notes, which he then concealed in his socks and lunchbox.
On May 1, Laatsch agreed to drop off classified information on a thumb drive at a designated spot in a public park in northern Virginia in an operation conducted by the FBI. The drive contained information classified as both Secret and Top Secret. Laatsch later expressed interest in obtaining citizenship in the unnamed country, stating that he did not anticipate improvements in the long term.
During a subsequent operation, Laatsch attempted to provide more classified information to the undercover agent. He was apprehended at a location in northern Virginia on Thursday. Laatsch, who joined the Defense Intelligence Agency in August 2019, worked as a data scientist and IT specialist for information security in the agency’s Insider Threat Division.
The arrest of Laatsch raises concerns among current and former intelligence officials about the potential for individuals with access to sensitive classified information to exploit the current state of uncertainty within the intelligence community for personal gain. As of now, there is no listed attorney for Laatsch in online court records.
