The Record reports that a civilian IT specialist at the Defense Intelligence Agency was arrested in Virginia for allegedly attempting to leak classified information to a foreign government.
Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 28, had been with the DIAs Insider Threat Division since 2019 and allegedly contacted an undercover FBI agent posing as a foreign official in March, offering military intelligence in exchange for potential citizenship abroad. Prosecutors say Laatsch justified his actions by stating he did not align with the Trump administrations values. Over several weeks, he is accused of exfiltrating classified data, transcribing sensitive material at his desk, and delivering a thumb drive containing samples of intelligence to a designated drop site. The FBI arrested him during a second planned drop-off. The case follows heightened warnings from U.S. counterintelligence agencies about foreign recruitment efforts targeting federal personnel. House Intelligence Committee Chair Rick Crawford warned such threats are only increasing and becoming more persistent across government institutions.
Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 28, had been with the DIAs Insider Threat Division since 2019 and allegedly contacted an undercover FBI agent posing as a foreign official in March, offering military intelligence in exchange for potential citizenship abroad. Prosecutors say Laatsch justified his actions by stating he did not align with the Trump administrations values. Over several weeks, he is accused of exfiltrating classified data, transcribing sensitive material at his desk, and delivering a thumb drive containing samples of intelligence to a designated drop site. The FBI arrested him during a second planned drop-off. The case follows heightened warnings from U.S. counterintelligence agencies about foreign recruitment efforts targeting federal personnel. House Intelligence Committee Chair Rick Crawford warned such threats are only increasing and becoming more persistent across government institutions.
