A former CIA analyst pleaded guilty to transferring top-secret data to unauthorized persons

Former analyst working for the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) admitted his guilt to the transfer of Top Secret National Defense Information (NDI) to individuals who did not have the necessary authorization to receive it and attempted to conceal this activity.

Asif William Rahman, 34, of Vienna, had worked for the CIA since 2016 and had a Top Secret clearance with access to classified information (SCI). He was charged on two counts of illegal transfer of NDI in November 2024 after his arrest.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of knowingly possessing and transmitting classified information related to national defense. He is expected to be sentenced on May 15, 2025, and faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

According to court sawdustRahman is alleged to have kept two documents marked “Top Secret” without permission on or about October 17, 2024, and passed them on to several individuals who were not authorized to receive them.

“In the spring of 2024, the defendant accessed and printed approximately five documents from his workplace. These documents were marked ‘Secret’ and ‘Top Secret,'” according to court documents filed on January 17, 2025. “The defendant transported these materials beyond their place of work and to their place of residence, hiding these materials in their backpack.”

“From his residence in the Eastern District of Virginia, the defendant reproduced the documents and, in doing so, altered them in an attempt to conceal their source and his activities. The defendant then passed on Top Secret information he had learned while on the job. to several persons who he knew were not entitled to receive them, he also provided reproductions of classified and top secret documents to several persons who he knew were not entitled to receive them.’

Rahman is also said to have shared an additional 10 Top Secret documents in the fall of 2024. Then, on October 17, he printed two more “Top Secret” documents that dealt with an ally of the United States and its planned kinetic actions. against a foreign opponent.

The defendant then photographed these documents from his residence and used a computer program to edit the images. Then the documents were given to unknown people who did not belong to them. These individuals are believed to have shared the information with others, which eventually led to the documents appearing on several social media platforms on October 18.

While the names of the countries are not disclosed, several messages from Axios and CNN Around that time, it was discovered that the release was related to Israel’s plans to attack Iran. The documents, prepared by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, were published on Telegram by an account called Middle East Spectator.

Rahman was also accused of deleting files and altering journal entries and written documents on his personal electronic devices to hide his personal views on US politics. In addition, he prepared the records to paint a false, seemingly benevolent narrative about his deletion of records on his personal device and the CIA workstation.

“Government officials who are granted clearances and access to our nation’s classified information must promise to protect it,” said Robert Wells, executive assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s national security division. “Rahman blatantly broke that promise and took several steps to cover up his actions.”

A Chinese citizen and two Filipinos have been arrested in the Philippines for espionage

The development came after the Philippine National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) released information on the arrest of a Chinese national and two Filipino nationals suspected of conducting surveillance on critical infrastructure facilities for over a month.

The three individuals, Deng Yuanqing, Ronel Jojo Balundo Besa and Jason Amado Fernandez, are part of a six-member group involved in surveillance operations by illegally obtaining classified information related to national defense. The remaining three participants, two hardware engineers and a financier (aka Wang), are currently in China, the agency added.

According to the NBI, Deng is a software engineer specializing in automation and control, and is allegedly affiliated with the PLA University of Science and Technology, an academic institution in Nanjing that is controlled by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).

Investigations also revealed that the white vehicle was purchased and equipped with information and communication technology (ICT) equipment to facilitate an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operation.

“From December 13, 2024 to January 16, 2025, surveillance was conducted on a vehicle traveling back and forth through the National Capital Region and Luzon General Divisions, conducting detailed reconnaissance, mapping a comprehensive image of the terrain and structures, as well as the general topography of potential targets, without consent and authority of the Government of the Philippines,” – NBI said.

The agency also said that an on-site search led to the discovery of a user account in Chinese characters with device ID 918 452 619 that controls the computer system inside the vehicle, such as a portable keyboard, files and cameras.

In recent years, the Philippines has been targeted by several Chinese threat actors, mainly geopolitical tensions in Southeast Asia due to ongoing territorial disputes in the South China Sea.