Ex-NSA employee who tried to spy for Russia sentenced to 21 years

A cyber specialist who briefly worked at the top secret U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) was sentenced to more than 21 years in prison on Monday for attempting to spy for Russia, the Justice Department said.

Jareh Sebastian Dalke, 32, spent less than four weeks working at the NSA, the US government's huge and powerful signals intelligence agency, before he suddenly quit, citing family problems at the end of June 2022.

In the few weeks he was at the NSA, Dalke printed out top secret documents, and after leaving he offered them for sale for $85,000 to an individual he believed to be a Russian agent, according to court documents.

He was actually dealing with an undercover FBI agent.

Dalke, of Colorado Springs, Colorado, pleaded guilty in October in US District Court to six counts of attempting to transmit classified national defense information to an agent of a foreign government.

"This defendant, who had sworn an oath to defend our country, believed he was selling classified national security information to a Russian agent, when in fact, he was outing himself to the FBI," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement.

"This sentence demonstrates that that those who seek to betray our country will be held accountable for their crimes."