Government security Former DIA IT specialist pleads guilty to attempting to leak classified information August 28, 2026 Share By SC Staff (Adobe Stock) A former Defense Intelligence Agency IT specialist has pleaded guilty to attempting to pass secret and top-secret information to foreign spies following a successful FBI sting operation. Nathan Vilas Laatsch, 29, was arrested in May 2025 after an undercover FBI agent caught him transmitting intelligence packages in a public park, believing they would be collected by a foreign government's spy, with further coverage provided by The Register. Laatsch, who had top-secret clearance and worked in the DIA's Insider Threat Division, offered to transmit classified information to a "friendly foreign government" in March 2025. The FBI initiated an undercover operation, posing as representatives of the foreign government. Laatsch accessed classified information, transcribed it onto physical notepads, and concealed the notes in his socks and lunchbox. He then transferred the information to a thumb drive and attempted to dead-drop it in an Arlington, Virginia park. The FBI recovered the drive, which contained nine documents, eight of which were classified as top-secret. The transmitted files included sensitive intelligence collection methods and analysis of foreign military exercises. Laatsch also expressed a desire for foreign citizenship. He was arrested during a second attempted intel drop on May 29, 2025, after electronically transferring files from a picnic table. His plea agreement recommends a sentence between 11 and 18 years. Source: The Register SC Staff Related Government security Sonu Shankar named principal deputy CIO at Defense Department SC Staff August 28, 2026 Shankar previously served as a strategic advisor to Pentagon leadership through the Business Operators for National Defense (BOND) initiative, which aims to leverage industry expertise to improve the Pentagon's acquisition system. Government security ATF investigating cybersecurity incident designated a major incident SC Staff August 28, 2026 The disclosure came after the ransomware group Qilin listed ATF on its dark-web leak site and claimed to have compromised the agency, as reported by Nextgov. Critical Infrastructure Security Five Washington developments every CISO should be watching SC Staff August 28, 2026 Federal cybersecurity policy shifts are reshaping AI, contracting, CISA and quantum priorities. Related Events Webcast Public sector security: Achieving resilience in the AI age Tue Sep 8 Get daily email updates SC Media's daily must-read of the most current and pressing daily news Business Email By clicking the Subscribe button below, you agree to SC Media Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . Subscribe You can skip this ad in 5 seconds