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3w ago

Federal Judiciary Confirms Persistent Hack, Tightens Security

Court officials said new zero-trust security will block future intrusions after a breach that exposed sealed informant data across multiple districts.

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 described recent cyber intrusions on CM/ECF and PACER as sophisticated and persistent, confirming that sensitive filings were compromised.
  • Officials have rolled out multifactor authentication, zero-trust architecture, stricter access controls and encrypted communications to safeguard sealed court documents.
  • Investigations are probing both nation-state and criminal group involvement, with fresh reports indicating Latin American cartels may have obtained confidential informant and witness information.
  • Chief judges in the 8th Circuit were briefed in Kansas City on the breach, and House and Senate Judiciary committees received a classified follow-up briefing request for September.
  • The judiciary is working with the Justice Department, DHS, the FBI and Congress to assess damage, mitigate risks to litigants and secure funding for a multi-year overhaul of its legacy systems.