KOBLENZ (Germany), Nov 19: A German court on Tuesday sentenced a former Nato employee to seven years in jail for spying after the IT expert copied secret data in order to sell it to a foreign intelligence service.

The 61-year-old man, identified only as Manfred K, had worked for the transatlantic military alliance at the US airbase of Ramstein in Germany, but left his job after a dispute. “The disclosure of the files would allow a potential enemy of Nato to gain access to the secret network of Nato,” the court found.

It rejected the man’s claim that he had wanted to point out security gaps when he copied the data and hid it on USB memory sticks in his kitchen and basement last year.

The man copied passwords for Nato computer systems, server locations and other information that would have enabled a cyber attack, the court in the western city of Koblenz found.

The IT expert, who had worked for Nato for more than 30 years, copied the data in March last year and failed in an attempt to obtain more in June, but left Nato shortly afterward.—AFP