Elliot Doxer, an employee of web content delivery company Akamai Technologies, Inc., has been arrested by federal authorities on the accusation that he offered to spy on behalf of a foreign country in exchange for money.
According to Reuters, Doxer was charged with one count of wire fraud for providing “customers lists, contract details and employee information,” and he asked for $3000 in return. Per the Jerusalem Post, court papers show that Doxer tried to contact a foreign consulate in Boston to offer his spying assistance in 2006: He allegedly wrote that he was a Jewish American, and wanted “to help our homeland and our war against our enemies.” The federal authorities have neither confirmed nor denied that the country was Israel, although prosecutors say that the foreign country offered its cooperation in the investigation and was not accused of any crime. If convicted, Doxer could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
If you’re not familiar with Akamai, it’s huge: It’s the world’s largest content delivery network (CDN), serving content for customers like Adobe, Apple, Netflix, and Yahoo; the company’s About Us page boasts that “If you use the Internet for anything – to download music or software, check the headlines, book a flight – you’ve probably used Akamai’s services without even knowing it.” (See: Akamai’s full customer list.) While it’s fortunate that no espionage appears to have been successfully committed, whether or not the Feds’ allegations are true, an employee offering to provide a lot of sensitive information from within Akamai would not be making an empty offer.
(via Reuters, The Boston Channel, Jerusalem Post)
