The FBI filed a criminal complaint to intervene against what it considers would-be espionage committed by US Navy nuclear engineer Jonathan Toebbe, of Maryland.
Charged with Communication of Restricted Data and committing an offense against the United States, Toebbe is alleged to have attempted to sell nuclear submarine-related military secrets to a foreign nation. On three separate occasions, Toebbe unwittingly “dead dropped” to waiting federal agents SD cards containing documents related to “militarily sensitive design elements, operating parameters, and performance characteristics of Virginia-class submarine reactors.”
Of particular note was the method of payment requested by Toebbe in exchange for the documents, which was the cryptocurrency Monero (XMR). Toebbe received a grand total of $100,000 in XMR across three payments from federal investigators, one prior to each drop.
Monero is quickly becoming the cryptocurrency of choice among darknet markets and cybercrime groups, hailed for its advanced privacy features which make it near impossible to distinguish the senders, recipients and amounts of each transaction.
“This form of gift protects both of us very well,” wrote Toebbe, describing Monero in an email to whom he believed to be a foreign country’s military intelligence agency. “I am very aware of the risks of blockchain analysis of BitCoin and other cryptocurrencies, and believe Monero gives both us excellent deniability.”
Federal investigators were first made aware of the fact that someone was trying to sell classified military documents to foreign nations after they were contacted by one such nation that had received a letter from Toebbe, which they then forwarded to investigators. After months in contact pretending to be the foreign government in question, the feds managed to gain Toebbe’s trust, getting him to agree to meet at a predetermined drop point.
Agents quickly identified Toebbe and his wife as they performed an arranged SD card dead drop in June, continuing to remain in contact with him for the months leading up to his Oct. 9 arrest.
Toebbe had been employed by the US Navy since 2012, released from active service in 2017. His LinkedIn profile confirms his position as a nuclear engineer for Naval Reactors, an organization operated by the U.S. Departments of Navy and Energy. The organization describes itself as “responsible for all matters pertaining to U.S. Navy nuclear propulsion.” Toebbe specialized in noise and vibration physics, helping to develop shock absorption technology for nuclear reactors.