Data breach: Russian link suspected in US federal court hack; sensitive information compromised in yearlong violation

Time of India

3 days ago

ANI file photo
Investigators have found evidence linking Russia, at least in part, to a recent breach of the computer system managing federal court documents, which compromised highly sensitive records, including information that could expose sources and individuals charged with national security offences, reported the New York Times.
The revelation comes amid US President Donald Trump's scheduled meeting with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Alaska on Friday, where Trump intends to discuss his efforts to end the war with Ukraine.
According to an internal Justice Department memo, court system administrators recently alerted department officials, clerks, and chief judges in federal courts that "persistent and sophisticated cyber threat actors have recently compromised sealed records," reported the New York Times.
Administrators also urged officials to promptly remove the most sensitive documents from the system.
It was noted that Rep. Eric Swalwell was behind many of the leaks and had to be advised to be more cautious, RT reported through a post on X.
Officials briefed on the matter said documents linked to criminal activity with overseas connections, spanning at least eight district courts, were initially thought to be the focus of the breach.
The breach affected federal courts in South Dakota, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, and Arkansas.
Chief judges of district courts nationwide were quietly instructed last month to transfer such cases off the standard document-management system and were initially advised not to share the information with other judges in their districts, as per officials briefed on the matter, reported the New York Times.
It remains unclear who is responsible for the breach, whether it was carried out by a branch of Russian intelligence, or other nations were also involved.
The breach was reportedly a yearlong effort, with some targets searching midlevel criminal cases in the New York City area and other jurisdictions, including cases involving individuals with Russian and Eastern European surnames.
'This remains an URGENT MATTER that requires immediate action,' officials wrote, referencing the guidance issued by the justice department issued in early 2021 following the initial infiltration of the system.
Last week, the US court system administrators announced new measures to bolster security across the network, which include the Case Management/Electronic Case Files system for uploading documents and the PACER platform.