Former CIA Contractor Allegedly Sold Classified Data For Private Profit - 1

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Former CIA Contractor Allegedly Sold Classified Data For Private Profit

  • Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

A former CIA contractor, Dale Britt Bendler, allegedly used classified systems as a “personal Google” to earn $360,000 from private clients.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

  • He earned about $360,000 from private clients while a full-time contractor.
  • Bendler had Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance during the misconduct.
  • He shared classified information with a U.S. lobbying firm and foreign nationals.

Dale Britt Bendler who served as a CIA officer and contractor exploited his access to classified U.S. intelligence systems which he treated like his own search engine for selling information to private clients, according to court documents obtained by 404Media .

Bendler, 68, retired from the CIA in 2014 but returned as a contractor with a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information clearance.

404Media reports that the government says he used this access to collect sensitive information and provide it to a U.S. lobbying firm and foreign nationals, earning approximately $360,000 in private fees between July 2017 and September 2020.

“He violated his oaths, broke the law, and should be held accountable,” the court document states.

404Media notes that in one case, Bendler allegedly gathered information for a foreign national accused of laundering money from his country’s sovereign wealth fund.

The court records say he was paid $20,000 a month to help with a public relations campaign aimed at rebutting the allegations and lobbying U.S. officials. 404Media says that Bendler reportedly searched CIA systems for information about the individual and included it in a proposal to a U.S. lobbying firm.

The court documents show he received $20,000 per month to help with public relations work aimed at rebutting the allegations and lobbying U.S. officials..

Bendler reportedly searched CIA systems for information about the individual and included it in a proposal to a U.S. lobbying firm. That proposal suggested using classified information to “influence the American public and using his prior relationships with government officials on the National Security Council and in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to influence U.S. policy.”

In a separate case, Bendler allegedly gathered information on another foreign national accused of laundering money for a foreign terrorist organization, as noted by 404Media.

The court documents note, “In many ways, Defendant was able to use the fact that his job was so sensitive and classified as both a sword and a shield. He wielded it as a sword when he abused his access to classified information and he relied on it as a shield to hide his criminal activity.”

Furthermore. “It is important to send a strong message at sentencing and deter other former members of the intelligence community from breaking the law to make some extra money.”

Notion Introduces AI Agents In Latest Update - 2

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Notion Introduces AI Agents In Latest Update

  • Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
  • Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

The productivity platform Notion launched its first AI agents and a software update this Thursday at the “Make with Notion” event. The new AI systems allow users to perform multiple tasks autonomously and manage or adapt databases as requested.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

  • Notion launched its first AI agents and a software update.
  • The new software, Notion 3.0, introduces advanced AI features and personal agents.
  • The platform also announced that it has joined the MCP program.

According to the official announcement , the new software update, Notion 3.0, introduces advanced AI features and personal agents. These agents integrate with platforms such as Google Drive, Slack, and GitHub, enabling users to streamline their workflows.

Introducing Notion Agents. You assign the tasks, your Agents do the work. Available today. Giddy up! 🤠 pic.twitter.com/1N3rnZJX3l — Notion (@NotionHQ) September 18, 2025

“With Notion 1.0 and 2.0, we gave you the tools to do your work in one place,” states the document. “With 3.0, you get Agents that do the work for you, so you can reclaim time and focus on building your life’s work.”

Notion 3.0 allows users to create and customize agents for specific tasks, considering context and memory from past activities and project updates. “It’s like a coworker that’s been around and has genuine context,” said Harsha Yeddanupudy, Faire Product Manager at Notion.

With Custom Agents, users can assign tasks to the AI system, and it will perform autonomously according to the instructions provided. Users will be able to choose from different AI models, including GPT-5 and Claude Sonnet 4—which are built in Notion 3.0—to power their agents.

The productivity platform also announced that it has joined the Model Context Protocol (MPC), allowing interactions with different platforms available in the ecosystem.

“We’ve expanded our list of first-party MCP integrations with lots of new partners like Lovable, Perplexity, Mistral, and HubSpot,” states the announcement. “With Notion MCP, your tools can read context from your Notion workspace (and your connected apps) and write back to Notion.”

Other companies have recently announced similar AI agent strategies. In July, Walmart announced four new AI agents for its business, which were also integrated into the MCP, after Anthropic launched the “Integrations” feature for the protocol.