Overview

• An internal Justice Department memo states that “persistent and sophisticated cyber threat actors” have compromised sealed records on federal court systems.
• The compromised platforms include CM/ECF and PACER, which store sensitive filings such as national-security case details and confidential informant records.
• Reporting from multiple sources cited by The New York Times indicates that Russian actors are likely behind the intrusions, though formal public attribution remains pending.
• The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts has begun enforcing multifactor authentication, zero-trust architecture and encrypted communications to secure legacy systems.
• The Justice Department, FBI and DHS are leading the ongoing investigation and have asked Congress for classified briefings to determine the full scope of the breach.