--- description: An ex-federal contractor will be charged with violating the Espionage Act after he allegedly stole classified data for 20 years: officials title: Ex-NSA Contractor Stole 'Astonishing Amount' of Classified Data: Feds image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a7dd53cf3f045c3/6988aafbbc6cfc39033df056/nsa.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Former NSA Contractor Stole 'Astonishing Amount' of Classified Data Over 20 Years, Feds Say  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 20, 2016 10:37 PM CUT  The seals of the U.S. Cyber Command, the National Security Agency and the Central Security Service greet employees and visitors at the campus the three organizations share on March 13, 2015 in Fort Meade, Maryland. The seals of the U.S. Cyber Command, the National Security Agency and the Central Security Service greet employees and visitors at the campus the three organizations share on March 13, 2015 in Fort Meade, Maryland.Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Oct 20, 2016 10:37 PM CUT A [former National Security Agency contractor](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/government-alleges-massive-theft-by-nsa-contractor/2016/10/20/e021c380-96cc-11e6-bb29-bf2701dbe0a3%5Fstory.html?hpid=hp%5Fhp-more-top-stories%5Fnsa-452pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory "undefined") will be charged with violating the Espionage Act after he allegedly stole an “astonishing amount” of highly classified information over 20 years, federal prosecutors said Thursday. Authorities said [Harold Thomas Martin III](http://time.com/4519922/government-contractor-arrested-stealing-classified-information/ "undefined") took at least 50 terabytes of data, “six full banker’s boxes worth of documents,” and personal information about government employees, according to the Washington _Post_. Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced a [criminal complaint](https://www.scribd.com/document/326534399/Martin-Criminal-Complaint#from%5Fembed "undefined") against the 51-year-old Maryland man. He is expected to appear at a detention hearing Friday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore, where prosecutors plan to argue against his release from jail. \[[_Washington Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/government-alleges-massive-theft-by-nsa-contractor/2016/10/20/e021c380-96cc-11e6-bb29-bf2701dbe0a3%5Fstory.html?hpid=hp%5Fhp-more-top-stories%5Fnsa-452pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4539840/former-nsa-contractor-classified-info/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4539840/former-nsa-contractor-classified-info/"},"headline":"Former NSA Contractor Stole 'Astonishing Amount' of Classified Data Over 20 Years, Feds Say","datePublished":"2016-10-20T22:37:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T10:18:31.356Z","description":"He took at least 50 terabytes of data, officials said","url":"https://time.com/4539840/former-nsa-contractor-classified-info/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a7dd53cf3f045c3/6988aafbbc6cfc39033df056/nsa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1a7dd53cf3f045c3/6988aafbbc6cfc39033df056/nsa.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Defense Secretary Carter Visits U.S. Cyber Command At Fort Meade","caption":"The seals of the U.S. Cyber Command, the National Security Agency and the Central Security Service greet employees and visitors at the campus the three organizations share on March 13, 2015 in Fort Meade, Maryland.","creditText":"Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4539840/former-nsa-contractor-classified-info/","name":"Former NSA Contractor Stole 'Astonishing Amount' of Classified Data Over 20 Years, Feds Say"}}]}] ```