An Australian cybersecurity executive has pleaded guilty to selling his US employer’s trade secrets to a Russian broker in exchange for millions of dollars in cryptocurrency.

Peter Joseph Williams, a 39-year-old US resident, made the guilty plea in the US District Court in Washington DC on Wednesday, local time.

While he now faces a maximum of 20 years in a US prison, the court heard Williams accepted sentencing guidelines which meant he would likely spend at least a decade in jail, ABC News reported.

Prosecutors said Williams was paid around $US1.3 million ($2 million) in cryptocurrency to sell valuable and confidential information to a Russian company between April 2022 and August 2025.

The US Department of Justice said the Australian stole the material from a US defence contractor he worked for which “comprised of national-security focused software that included at least eight sensitive and protected cyber-exploit components” meant for the US government and “select allies”.

“Williams sold the trade secrets to a Russian cyber-tools broker that publicly advertises itself as a reseller of cyber exploits to various customers, including the Russian government,” the department said.

Williams most recently worked for cyber intelligence company Trenchant, according to TechCrunch.

The company provides intelligence tools to the Five Eyes intelligence network, which includes Australia, New Zealand, US, Canada, and UK.

Williams allegedly led an internal company investigation into his own crimes after authorities notified his employer that its trade secrets had been stolen last year.

Trenchant was formed by US firm L3Harris Technologies after it acquired Australian startups Azimuth Security and Linchpin labs in 2018.

Both startups developed and sold cybersecurity exploits to Western intelligence agencies.

Multiple sources told ABC News that Williams had worked for Australia's cyber intelligence agency the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) in the 2010s, but the agency would not comment.

Prosecutor Tejpal Chawla reportedly told the court Williams had "admitted his actions had affected intelligence communities in Australia and the United States", and he had used the alias John Taylor to cover up his crimes.

Williams, who reportedly told the judge he had been receiving treatment for depression and anxiety, will remain under home detention until his sentencing on 27 January.


Peter Williams reportedly worked for cyber intelligence firm Trenchant, which is owned by US company L3Harris Technologies. Image: Shutterstock

House, money, watches, and jewellery seized

Court documents reportedly showed authorities had seized Williams’s Washington DC house, as well as money from several bank accounts.

Expensive jewellery, clothing, and accessories were also seized, including a collection of 22 watches which featured five fake Rolexes.

Prosecutors allegedly told the court that Williams knew the Russian broker could sell the information he shared to anyone — including the Russian government — and he would have been paid more than the $2 million in cryptocurrency if he had not been caught.

They added that Williams’s crimes had cost his employer around $US35 million ($53 million).

Williams had entered “multiple written contracts with the Russian broker”, the US Department of Justice said.

These allegedly involved payments for the initial sales of material, and further payments “for follow-on support”.

"Williams transferred the eight components and trade secrets to the Russian broker through encrypted means,” the department said.

“He used the proceeds to buy himself high-value items.”

Williams ‘gave Russian cyber actors an advantage’

Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI’s counterintelligence division, accused Williams of placing “greed over freedom and democracy”.

“By doing so, he gave Russian cyber actors an advantage in their massive campaign to victimise US citizens and businesses,” he said.

“This plea sends a clear message that the FBI and our partners will defend the homeland and bring to justice anyone who helps our adversaries jeopardise US national security."

US Assistant Attorney-General for national security, John A. Eisenberg, said, “Williams betrayed the United States and his employer by first stealing and then selling intelligence-related software to a foreign broker that touted its ties to Russia and other foreign governments.”

“His conduct was deliberate and deceitful, imperiling our national security for the sake of personal gain,” he added.

“Today’s guilty plea reflects our commitment to ensuring that insiders who abuse their positions of trust face serious consequences.”