The US accuses the former L3Harris cyber chief of stealing and selling secrets to a Russian buyer

The US government has charged a former executive at defense contractor L3Harris with stealing trade secrets and selling them to a buyer in Russia, according to court documents seen by TechCrunch.

On October 14, the Department of Justice charged Peter Williams with stealing eight trade secrets from two unnamed companies. The Justice Department made the allegation in a “criminal information” document, which, like an indictment, represents a formal accusation of alleged crimes.

Document She did not specify Williams’ relationship with the two companies or the types of trade secrets, nor did she name the alleged Russian buyer.

TechCrunch confirmed that Williams mentioned in the document, which did not specify where he works, is the former general manager of Trenchant, a division of L3Harris that develops hacking and surveillance tools for Western governments, including the United States.

Williams became managing director of Trenchant on October 23, 2024, and worked at Trenchant until August 21, 2025, according to UK business records. Williams, a 39-year-old Australian citizen, resides in Washington, D.C., according to the court document.

Four former Trenchant employees previously told TechCrunch that Williams, who was known within the company as “Doogie,” had been arrested.

A Justice Department spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch on Thursday that Williams is not currently in federal custody.

The Department of Justice accused Williams of stealing seven trade secrets between April 2022 and June 2025, and the eighth trade secret between June and August 6, 2025.

According to a criminal information document, the US government alleged that Williams earned $1.3 million from the sale of trade secrets. For this reason, the Department of Justice is seeking to seize Williams’ property derived from his alleged crimes.

A L3Harris spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

Williams’ attorney John Rowley declined to comment when contacted by TechCrunch on Thursday.

The FBI and the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where Williams’ case is being prosecuted, did not respond to multiple requests for comment Thursday. (The US government has been shut down since October 1 after federal funding was cut off.)

When reached by TechCrunch in September about Williams, the FBI declined to comment. The Australian Signals Service declined to comment, as this is a law enforcement matter.

A trial and guilty plea hearing is scheduled for October 29 in Washington, DC

In 2018, L3Harris acquired Azimuth and Linchpin Labs, two sister startups that developed Zero-Days, which they later merged to become Trenchant. The two companies sold hacking tools to the so-called Five Eyes, an intelligence-sharing group made up of the governments of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Earlier this week, TechCrunch exclusively reported, citing four former Trenchant employees, that the company was investigating the leak of its hacking tools.

A former Trenchant exploit developer told TechCrunch that he suspected them of leaking the tools, but denied any involvement.

The former developer said Trenchant made him a scapegoat for leaks of tools capable of exploiting vulnerabilities in Google Chrome, which he claimed he would not have had access to given he was developing iOS exploits. Three former employees said Trenchant splits what employees have access to depending on the platforms they work on.

Sources confirmed the developer’s account of the exploit and said the company wrongly accused the former employee.

It is not immediately clear whether the investigation into this year’s leak at Trenchant is related to the federal accusation against Williams.

The case against Williams is being prosecuted by the Department of Justice’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Division.