Reports about the scientist who tried to sell some of our most guarded secrets to Israel have shocked a lot of people that such a thing could really happen.
It’s the stuff that makes great spy movies, except that this time, it’s for real.
Thankfully, the scientist identified as David Nozette was arrested by the FBI in a very elaborate sting operation.
By the looks of it, the prosecutors are doing the best they can to keep Nozette in jail for the rest of his life.
The risk of him fleeing and successfully sharing confidential information to other nations are just too big.
According to his former colleague, Scott Hubbard, Nozette was a defense technologist who had access to the Department of Defense national security work, which are highly classified.
The suspicion about Nozette’s espionage work started when an inspection by NASA’s inspector general in 2006 found some anomalous claims for expenses that were not actually incurred.
Further investigations showed that Nozette might have been working for a foreign government. This led to a national security investigation that led to the sting and the eventual arrest.
This issue goes beyond intellectual property rights violations.
Selling trade secrets of companies to rival organizations could already get you to jail for up to 15 years and a fine of about half a million dollars for committing acts of industrial espionage.
And that is just about rival corporate companies.
Nozerette’s alleged act went beyond industrial espionage, it is treason.
Not only was he selling confidential information to another nation, he might have been selling secrets that compromises the nation’s national security.
Hopefully, this is an isolated incident and would not happen again in the near future.
It’s the stuff that makes great spy movies, except that this time, it’s for real.
Thankfully, the scientist identified as David Nozette was arrested by the FBI in a very elaborate sting operation.
By the looks of it, the prosecutors are doing the best they can to keep Nozette in jail for the rest of his life.
The risk of him fleeing and successfully sharing confidential information to other nations are just too big.
According to his former colleague, Scott Hubbard, Nozette was a defense technologist who had access to the Department of Defense national security work, which are highly classified.
The suspicion about Nozette’s espionage work started when an inspection by NASA’s inspector general in 2006 found some anomalous claims for expenses that were not actually incurred.
Further investigations showed that Nozette might have been working for a foreign government. This led to a national security investigation that led to the sting and the eventual arrest.
This issue goes beyond intellectual property rights violations.
Selling trade secrets of companies to rival organizations could already get you to jail for up to 15 years and a fine of about half a million dollars for committing acts of industrial espionage.
And that is just about rival corporate companies.
Nozerette’s alleged act went beyond industrial espionage, it is treason.
Not only was he selling confidential information to another nation, he might have been selling secrets that compromises the nation’s national security.
Hopefully, this is an isolated incident and would not happen again in the near future.
