The Pentagon is conducting an investigation into a “critical compromise” of communications across 17 Air Force facilities caused by one of its engineers, as per a search warrant obtained by Forbes.
The warrant also reveals evidence of a potential breach of FBI communications by the same employee, who was stationed at the Arnold Air Force Base in Tennessee.
A tip-off from a base contractor alerted the government to the 48-year-old engineer’s actions, suspecting that he had taken government radio technologies home for personal use, effectively stealing them.
The warrant alleges that the value of the pilfered equipment amounted to nearly $90,000.
During a search of the engineer’s home, law enforcement discovered that he had “unauthorized administrator access” to radio communications technology used by the Air Education and Training Command (AETC), impacting 17 Department of Defense (DoD) installations.
AETC is one of the Pentagon’s nine “major commands,” providing offensive, defensive, and support elements to Air Force HQ.