An IT specialist working for a U.S. intelligence agency is in cuffs after trying to leak classified information to a foreign nation in defiance of the Trump administration.
Nathan Vilas Laatsch, a 28-year-old data scientist and IT security expert assigned to the DIA’s Insider Threat Division, is accused of reaching out to what he believed was a foreign intelligence operative, offering highly classified material.
Disgruntled DIA IT specialist contacted undercover agent
According to a statement from the Department of Justice and supporting court documents, the person he contacted turned out to be an undercover FBI agent, not a foreign official.
Authorities have not revealed the identity of the foreign country Laatsch believed he was communicating with.
The investigation into Laatsch’s activities began in March after federal agents received a tip regarding an email sent by someone offering to supply classified intelligence to a “friendly foreign government.”
The destination of the message remains undisclosed, but its contents were alarming.
The subject line of the email read, “Outreach from USA Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Officer,” and in the body, the sender claimed to work for the DIA.
IT specialist leaked classified docs because he doesn’t “agree” with the Trump administration
According to an affidavit filed by a special agent with the FBI, the sender voiced dissatisfaction with the direction of the federal government.
“The recent actions of the current administration are extremely disturbing to me … I do not agree or align with the values of this administration and intend to act to support the values that the United States at one time stood for,” the sender wrote.
In that same message, the person offered to supply “completed intelligence products, some unprocessed intelligence, and other assorted classified documentation,” claiming to have detailed insight into DIA protocols for monitoring internal user activity.
The email also contained photographs of two official identification cards, described as “images of badges that I use to enter workspaces.”
While identifying details were removed from the images, investigators used other visual cues to help determine Laatsch’s identity.
As the investigation progressed, communication between Laatsch and the undercover FBI agent ramped up throughout April.
In one instance, Laatsch allegedly dismissed the risks involved in his actions by stating, “I do not see the trajectory of things changing, and do not think it is appropriate or right to do nothing when I am in this position.”
Suspect smuggled out information in his socks
Federal agents allege that Laatsch began manually copying classified information from his secure government computer onto a notepad.
Over several days, he is said to have smuggled these documents out of the facility, at times concealing folded papers in his socks to avoid detection.
On May 1, Laatsch is accused of performing a covert “dead drop” in a park located in Arlington, Virginia.
There, he allegedly left behind a USB flash drive that contained transcriptions of sensitive intelligence.
Within a week of that drop-off, Laatsch purportedly told the agent he wished to obtain citizenship from the unidentified foreign government, explaining that he did not “expect things here to improve in the long term.”
“On May 14, the FBI agent advised Laatsch that it was prepared to receive additional classified information,” read the Justice Department’s press release.
Over the next 12 days, federal investigators say the IT specialist continued the same routine: logging into his secure government workstation, copying information by hand onto pages, folding the papers, and hiding them in his clothing to sneak them out of the building.
Authorities took him into custody on Thursday, May 29, just as he was en route to another meeting site where he intended to leave additional classified content. He was apprehended without incident.
Laatsch, who lives in Alexandria, Virginia, joined the DIA in 2019. In his role, he supported law enforcement initiatives aimed at detecting insider threats and reportedly had access to some of the most highly compartmentalized intelligence programs.
The FBI affidavit notes that, as part of his employment, Laatsch would have signed a permanent nondisclosure agreement recognizing that releasing classified materials without authorization could result in criminal prosecution.
