Scale and length of NSA data theft “breathtaking”

Prosecutors say ex-contractor stole enough material to fill 200 laptops

washington» A former National Security Agency contractor’s theft of top secret government information was “breathtaking in its longevity and scale,” federal prosecutors said in a court filing Thursday aimed at keeping the man locked up as the case moves forward. They said he took enough classified material to fill roughly 200 laptop computers.

The Justice Department also said it anticipated bringing additional charges against Harold T. Martin III, including accusations under the Espionage Act, which would expose him to far harsher penalties if convicted. Authorities described the evidence against him as “overwhelming” and said Martin admitted to investigators that he was illicitly storing classified materials.

The court papers offered new details about the enormous volume of information prosecutors believe Martin stole and revealed the Justice Department’s concern that Martin is or could be in contact with a foreign government. Prosecutors said Martin, a former lieutenant in the U.S. Navy, has had online communication in Russian and — raising the specter of a situation akin to previous NSA leaker Edward Snowden — said that if Martin were freed he “could seek refuge with a foreign government willing to shield him from facing justice.”

A detention hearing was scheduled for Friday afternoon in Baltimore.

Martin was arrested at his Maryland home in August. Prosecutors said agents who searched Martin’s home and car seized dozens of computers and electronic devices, then found classified government materials from 1996 to 2016 and some 50 terabytes of information.