Photo By Erin Thompson | Early prototype of the KL-7 (also known as AFSAM-7) cipher machine (National Security...... read more read more
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by Erin E. Thompson, USAICoE Staff Historian
FORMER ARMY WARRANT OFFICER ARRESTED FOR SELLING CRYPTOLOGIC INFORMATION
On Jul. 15, 1981, former Army Warrant Officer Joseph G. Helmich was arrested for selling classified information to the Soviet Union. He primarily provided his handlers with machine parts and manuals related to the KL-7 cipher machine.
Joseph George Helmich, Jr. enlisted in the U.S. Army after dropping out of high school in 1954. He attended the Army Signal School and served in Korea from 1955–1957. In April 1958, he traveled to France, where he was assigned first to the U.S. Army Communications Zone in Orleans, then to the U.S. Army Garrison in Paris in 1959, and finally to the 275th Signal Company in Paris in 1960. He was appointed a warrant officer in December 1961.
While in Paris in January 1963, Helmich, who was deep in debt and facing a potential court martial due to writing bad checks, approached the Soviet embassy with classified materials, earning him enough money to pay off his debts. He continued to meet with USSR agents until he rotated back to the U.S. in mid-1963. While assigned to the 50th Signal Battalion at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Helmich repeatedly flew to Paris to continue selling information. Between 1963–1964, he earned approximately $131,000 for furnishing key lists, manuals, and machine parts for the KL-7 cipher machine.
The KL-7 was first conceptualized by the Army Security Agency (ASA) as an alternative to its World War II-era machine, the SIGABA, for secure cryptographic communications between American units, and between America and its allies. The KL-7 employed a newly developed principle called “re-entry,” which required feeding the output of one cryptographic system into another and re-enciphering it. It operated off-line, meaning enciphered communications needed to be manually fed through a separate transmitter. In 1949, development of the KL-7 transferred to the Armed Forces Security Agency (AFSA, predecessor to the National Security Agency), which centralized defense cryptologic activities. The AFSA began production of the system in early 1952 and the KL-7 soon became an essential component to Army communications security.
In 1964, Helmich’s sudden affluence brought him under the suspicion of his commanding officers, leading to an internal investigation. Helmich made excuses for his sudden financial improvement, refused a polygraph, and was then transferred to Vietnam. He served two years overseas before returning stateside to attend additional training at Fort Gordon, Georgia. His continued financial irresponsibility led to the revocation of his security clearances in September 1966. Helmich resigned from the Army before he could be forcibly discharged.
In the mid-1970s, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) supplied the Army with information about an American signal soldier who passed information to the USSR in France during the 1960s. The U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command identified Helmich as that agent, based partly on the Army’s earlier investigations into his activities. Several years later, in August 1980, Helmich was discovered attempting to reestablish contact with the Soviets. When confronted by FBI agents about the meeting, Helmich confessed to selling information in the 1960s and was arrested on espionage charges on Jul. 15, 1981.
The prosecution alleged by selling information about the KL-7 to the Soviets—many of the materials classified Secret and Top Secret—Helmich had potentially compromised high level communications as America was preparing to enter the Vietnam War. The defense downplayed the significance of the breach, as by the 1960s, the KL-7 was in use by over a dozen countries and “was no longer being used [as] the first line of defense. It was really getting limited use.”
In September 1981, Helmich pleaded guilty to one count of selling classified information to the Soviet Union, and three other espionage-related charges were dropped. He was sentenced to life in prison and passed away in November 2002.
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| Date Taken: | 07.11.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.11.2025 14:18 |
| Story ID: | 542572 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 13 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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