Peter Williams, a former General Manager of US government defense contractor L3Harris’ cyber division Trenchant, has been sentenced to 87 months in prison for selling sensitive and protected zero-day exploits to a Russian cyber-tools broker.

Williams is a 39-year-old Australian national living in the United States. He began working as Director at Trenchant on October 23rd, 2024, and resigned on August 21st, 2025.

In October 2025, Williams pleaded guilty to stealing and trading trade secrets. He admitted that he stole eight zero-day exploits over a three-year period from the US defense contractor he worked for, and that he sold the trade secrets to a Russian cyber-tools broker in exchange for cryptocurrency payments.

On Tuesday, Judge AliKhan from the US District Court for the District of Columbia sentenced Williams to 87 months in prison. In addition to the prison sentence, the judge ordered that the Australian national has to serve three years of supervised release with special conditions, and forfeit $1.3 million in cryptocurrency and property.

“Theft of trade secrets from a company that sells national security-focused cyber and intelligence software to the US government and allied governments necessarily implicates national security, and Mr. Williams indeed acknowledges that his actions caused harm to the intelligence communities, both in the US and Australia,” Judge AliKhan ruled.

According to John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security, Williams exploited his role as a defense contractor to enrich himself.

“The tools he compromised were intended to protect this Nation. Instead, he auctioned them off to a Russian bidder. We are committed to ensuring that those who abuse their access to sensitive information and thereby harm our national security face severe consequences,” Eisenberg said in response to Judge AliKhan’s ruling.

According to the US Department of Justice, Williams’ actions had a significant impact on the government contractor’s customers, leading to a financial loss of $35 million. But worse, Williams’ conduct posed a risk to America’s national security.

“By betraying a position of trust and selling sensitive American technology, Williams’ crime is not only one of theft, it is a crime of national security. Our nation’s defense capabilities are not commodities to be auctioned off. People like Williams who endanger our national security will be met with swift and decisive consequences,” Jeanine Pirro, US Attorney for the District of Colombia, said.

A restitution hearing related to the $35 million in losses is scheduled for May 12th.

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