Hackers strike US court system: Identities of informants compromised in wide hacking attack
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Hackers strike US court system: Identities of informants compromised in wide hacking attack")
Image strictly for representation Photograph: (Pexels)
The hack may have exposed sensitive court data in several states, the Politico report said, citing two people aware of the matter.
A sweeping hacking attack on the US federal court filing system may have compromised identities of confidential court informants, a report in the Politico website said on Wednesday (Aug 6).
What was affected in the US court hacking?
The hack targeted the US judiciary's electronic case filing system. The case management system contains sensitive information, including indictments and arrest warrants.
The hack may have exposed sensitive court data in several states, the Politico report said, citing two people aware of the matter.
The filing system includes the case management/electronic case Files, or CM/ECF. This is used for uploading and managing case documents.
The system also has the Public Access to Court Electronic Records, or PACER, which give the public paid access to some of the data.
Dozens of US court dockets tampered with in hacking attack
Trending Stories
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
A source told Politico that nearly a dozen court dockets were tampered with in one court district.
In June, Michael Scudder, the chairperson of the Committee on Information Technology for the federal courts’ national policymaking body, had told a Congress panel that replacing CM/ECF and PACER was a “top priority” for the federal judiciary. Developing a more modernised system would have to be incremental, he had said.
He described the CM/ECF and Pacer as the “backbone system" used by federal courts for day-to-day operations.
Foreign spies have targeted US case management system in past
The latest hack shows that the federal court filing system is vulnerable amid a series of cybersecurity threats.
Foreign spies have targeted the case filing system in the past too, leading the Administrative Office of the US Courts to add new security procedures in 2021.
In 2022, three hostile foreign actors targeted the court document filing system.
Jerry Nadler, the House Judiciary Chairman at the time, had said at the time that the hack dated back to early 2020. Nadler said it was a breach of 'startling breadth and scope.'
