Core Points - The U.S. government has accused a former executive at defense contractor L3Harris of stealing trade secrets and selling them to a buyer in Russia [1] - The Department of Justice (DOJ) has formally charged Peter Williams with stealing eight trade secrets from two unnamed companies [1][4] - Williams was the general manager at Trenchant, a division of L3Harris that develops hacking and surveillance tools for Western governments [2][3] Company Overview - Trenchant was formed from the merger of two startups, Azimuth and Linchpin Labs, acquired by L3Harris in 2018, which sold hacking tools to the Five Eyes intelligence alliance [7] - The company is currently investigating a leak of its hacking tools, with former employees suggesting that the company may have wrongfully accused individuals of being involved [8][9] Legal Proceedings - An arraignment and plea agreement hearing for Williams is scheduled for October 29 in Washington D.C. [7] - The DOJ alleges that Williams made $1.3 million from the sale of the stolen trade secrets and seeks to forfeit his property derived from these alleged crimes [4]