A former employee stole terabytes of information from NDB

Dec 5, 2012 09:25 GMT  ·  By
Employee suspected of stealing secret information from Switzerland's NDB intelligence agency
   Employee suspected of stealing secret information from Switzerland's NDB intelligence agency

A former employee of Swiss intelligence agency Nachrichtendienst des Bundes (NDB) has been caught stealing terabytes’ worth of secret counter-terrorism information. This incident also affects other agencies that shared information with NDB.

According to Reuters, which cited sources close to the investigation, the United Kingdom’s MI6 and the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) might be affected. Both agencies have been notified of the fact that their counter-terrorism data might have been compromised.

Apparently, the suspect planned to sell the data he downloaded to portable hard drives to commercial buyers or foreign officials.

Investigators believe that the suspect – who had administrative privileges on most NDB systems – started this operation because he felt that the advice he provided was not taken seriously.

One side of the story says that authorities managed to arrest the man before he could sell the data he stole. On the other hand, others reveal that investigators don’t know for sure, which is why the US and the UK have been notified of the incident.