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4d ago

Federal Courts Disclose Persistent Cyberattack on Case Filing System

Federal courts are racing to shore up legacy filing platforms after discovering a persistent intrusion that could expose sealed records and informant identities.

The Thurgood Marshall Federal Judiciary Building houses the offices of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, the Federal Judicial Center, the United States Sentencing Commission, and the Office of the Clerk of the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation. (Image credit: Wikimedia Commons / D Ramey Logan)
Computers are seen inside a federal courtroom in New York on June 6.
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Overview

  • The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts confirmed a sophisticated, persistent cyberattack on its CM/ECF and PACER platforms originating around July 4 and is still assessing the full scope of data exposure.
  • Sealed court documents and confidential informant records across multiple federal district courts may have been compromised, raising risks to informant safety and case confidentiality.
  • Investigators are examining evidence of tampering in roughly a dozen court dockets in one district, underscoring threats to docket integrity.
  • Attribution remains unverified, though officials suspect involvement of nation-state-affiliated actors and criminal organizations.
  • Judiciary leaders, including Judge Michael Scudder, are accelerating incremental modernization plans to replace outdated filing systems and bolster cybersecurity defenses.