Former U.S. Intelligence Operatives Who Were Cyber Spies for UAE Fined for Violating U.S. Law

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Under a deal to avoid prosecution, three former U.S. intelligence operatives who worked as cyber spies for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) admitted to violating U.S. hacking laws and prohibitions on selling sensitive military technology.

The three men - Marc Baier, Ryan Adams, and Daniel Gericke - were part of a covert unit named Project Raven that helped the UAE spy on its adversaries. They admitted to hacking into computer networks in the U.S. and exporting sophisticated cyber intrusions tools without gaining the required permission from the U.S. government. Under a deal with federal authorities, the operatives will serve no prison sentence. They instead agreed to pay a combined $1.69 million and never again seek a U.S. security clearance.

The three operatives hacked into the iPhones of activists, diplomats, and rival foreign leaders with the help of a sophisticated spying tool called Karma, according to a 2019 Reuters scoop that exposed Project Raven. Starting in 2016, the UAE used t…