The government would very much want to make an example of anyone who did that. The punishment would be as severe as they could get away with.

That is either incredibly naive or an underhanded joke.

This isn't exactly the kind of thing US law treats as a minor offence, especially if it involves computers. Get the right prosecutor involved and this is a national security concern, an act of treason and a cybercrime all at once.

Are you nuts? It doesn't matter if it's reasonable or not, as an issue of national security I would imagine treason would be on the table due to the "aiding enemies" clause in the law.

Treason is _minimum_ 5 years, capital punishment at worst.