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Navy Civilian Engineer Pleads Guilty to Attempted Espionage
NORFOLK, Va. – Mostafa Ahmed Awwad, 36, of Yorktown, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to charges of attempted espionage relating to his attempt to provide schematics of the Navy’s newest nuclear aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald R. Ford, to Egypt.
Awwad began working for the Navy in February 2014 as a civilian general engineer in the Nuclear Engineering and Planning Department at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. He attempted to pass the confidential documents to the Egyptian government, but was actually working with an undercover FBI agent.
According to court documents, Awwad met with the undercover FBI agent in a park in Hampton, Virginia, where he described a detailed plan to circumvent U.S. Navy computer security and install software on his restricted computer system that would enable him to copy documents without causing a security alert.
Awwad also provided the undercover FBI agent with four Computer Aided Drawings of a U.S. nuclear aircraft carrier downloaded from the Navy Nuclear Propulsion Information system.
The National Security Division will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who abuse their access to sensitive defense information, said John Carlin, Assistant Attorney General for National Security.
The case underscores the persistent national security threat posed by insiders stealing critical national defense information in order to benefit foreign governments, said Randall C. Coleman, Assistant Director of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.
Awwad is currently awaiting sentencing and faces trial for his crimes. The case highlights the importance of vigilance in protecting sensitive defense information and the need for cooperation between law enforcement agencies and the military to prevent such threats.
This case demonstrates that NCIS aggressively pursues anyone who would endanger our national security by targeting critical platforms like the Ford class carrier, said Susan Triesch, Special Agent in Charge of the NCIS Norfolk Field Office.
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Cybercrime|Public Corruption|National Security
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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