Insider Threat Case: US Government IT Worker Admits Passing Top Secret Files to Ethiopia

Abraham Teklu Lemma, 53, of Maryland, has pleaded guilty to transmitting sensitive documents to Ethiopia, the US Justice Department confirmed. He agreed to a prison term of between 120 and 262 months. Lemma worked in several US government roles between 2019 and 2023, including for the National Reconnaissance Office, the State Department and the Justice Department. He held Top Secret clearance from 2020 and, as an IT help desk technician, had permission to move certain files between systems.

According to court documents, that trust was misused. Lemma was only allowed to access classified files on non-State Department systems with written approval tied to his official duties. Prosecutors say he instead browsed several classified portals without authorisation and copied information from at least 133 intelligence reports without a need to know. He allegedly downloaded more than 100 documents, burned them to discs, and removed their classification markings. The discs carried green labels, which are meant to signal unclassified material only. He then allegedly left the secure facility at the end of his shift with the discs in his jacket pocket.

The Justice Department's timeline of the offending has shifted. The original criminal complaint said it began in July 2022, while the DoJ has more recently claimed it began in 2021. The case is a stark reminder that threats do not always come from outside an organisation. People with legitimate access, and the technical know-how to work around controls, can do serious damage over a long period before being noticed.