TECH NEWS

Intelligence agency employee pleads guilty to trying to share classified info with foreign government

Bo Shen/Getty Images

ByDavid DiMolfetta,
Cybersecurity Reporter, Nextgov/FCW

August 27, 2026 12:50 PM ET

Updated Aug. 27 at 12:50pm

Nathan Vilas Laatsch, a former civilian IT specialist for the Defense Intelligence Agency, pleaded guilty to trying to share classified information with a foreign government on Wednesday.

In an email to an account associated with a friendly foreign nation, Laatsch expressed dismay at the actions of the current administration, according to a Department of Justice press release. He supplied a dead drop of a USB drive containing Secret and Top Secret information to a person he thought was affiliated with that nation but was actually an FBI agent. Laatsch communicated that...

Copyright of this story solely belongs to nextgov.com. To see the full text click HERE

https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/02/STK095_MICROSOFT_2_CVirginia_B.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C10.732984293194%2C100%2C78.534031413613&w=1200

Microsoft says ‘people matter more than AI’ following safety concerns

Microsoft is publishing a 37-page “humanist AI code of conduct” today, amid growing safety concerns over AI model progress. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei called for a coordinated slow down of AI development over the weekend, after researchers warned recently that AI model progress could outpace our ability to safely deploy

https://image.theregister.com/224202.jpg?imageId=224202&x=0&y=0&cropw=100&croph=100&panox=0&panoy=0&panow=100&panoh=100&width=1200&height=683

MPs and peers tell UK to stop winging it on AI regulation

AI AND ML Rights committee demands watchdog with teeth as patchwork safeguards leave victims hunting for remedies UK lawmakers want an AI watchdog with the teeth to stop potentially dangerous systems reaching the public, warning that existing rules leave people exposed and struggling to hold anyone accountable. The Joint Committee

https://image.theregister.com/5296169.jpg?imageId=5296169&x=0&y=0&cropw=100&croph=100&panox=0&panoy=0&panow=100&panoh=100&width=1200&height=683

Huawei pitches near-packaged optics as co-packaged costs bite

7.2 Tbps module arrives ahead of standards, with promises of fewer repair headaches Huawei wants near-packaged optics (NPO) standardized for AI networks, pitching it as a replacement for conventional pluggable modules without the cost and maintenance headaches it attributes to co-packaged optics. The Chinese tech giant showcased an NPO

https://image.theregister.com/259053.jpg?imageId=259053&x=0&y=0&cropw=100&croph=100&panox=0&panoy=0&panow=100&panoh=100&width=1200&height=683

Microsoft patches Windows and Excel – breaks audio, remote access, and paste

OS Platforms Redmond's quality drive takes another detour through the known issues list Microsoft has confirmed that its latest security updates can disrupt Remote Desktop Services, silence some USB audio devices, and break pasting in Excel. September's Windows patches hardly support Microsoft's insistence that

Nathan Vilas Laatsch was allegedly disgruntled by the Trump administration and willing to share sensitive data with the foreign country. The FBI set up a dead drop operation to intercept the classified materials.

Read more

Microsoft says ‘people matter more than AI’ following safety concerns

MPs and peers tell UK to stop winging it on AI regulation

Huawei pitches near-packaged optics as co-packaged costs bite

Microsoft patches Windows and Excel – breaks audio, remote access, and paste