It’s a classic story of what happens when spies go rogue, but instead of the typically draconian punishments associated with treason, three former U.S. cyberoperatives who worked for the United Arab Emirates after leaving government service are getting off with just a fine.
The three men—Marc Baier, Ryan Adams, and Dan Gericke—have agreed to pay $1,685,000 to avoid prison time, according to court filings. In doing so, they’ve acknowledged they committed hacking crimes and violated U.S. laws meant to restrict the export of military technology to foreign governments, after they left the intelligence community and military to hack journalists, activists, and dissidents—some of whom were American citizens.
But because they have agreed to pay the fine and “cooperate fully” with investigators—and never again obtain security clearances, which will ostensibly keep them away from classified materials—prosecutors have agreed to drop all charges in three years.
Part of the soft punishment comes from the murkiness that accompanies leaving government service and seeking a new career.
The program the three men worked for was called Project Raven, which was an effort from the United Arab Emirates to hire former U.S. cyberspecialists and use their expertise to hack certain vulnerable targets.