US Defense Intelligence Employee Arrested for Attempted Classified Leak to Foreign Government

Nathan Vilas Laatsch, a 28-year-old IT specialist employed by the Defense Intelligence Agency's Insider Threat Division since 2019, was arrested for attempting to share classified information with a foreign government. Motivated by ideological opposition to the Trump administration, Laatsch communicated with an undercover FBI agent posing as a foreign government representative and transcribed classified data onto a notepad, which he repeatedly removed from his workspace. The FBI conducted a sting operation culminating in Laatsch depositing a thumb drive containing documents marked Secret and Top Secret at a drop-off location in northern Virginia. Laatsch indicated he sought something in return for the information, including foreign citizenship, citing pessimism about the future of the United States. The case underscores ongoing insider threats to U.S. national security, with FBI and DOJ officials emphasizing their commitment to safeguarding classified information. Laatsch was arrested following the operation and is scheduled to appear in court in Alexandria.