The Russian government is allegedly tied to a cyberattack on PACER, the U.S. federal court filing system, according to The New York Times, which cited anonymous sources claiming Russia was “at least in part responsible” for the breach. The report did not specify which part of the Russian government was involved.
Hackers reportedly targeted midlevel criminal cases in New York City and other jurisdictions, including cases involving individuals with Russian and Eastern European surnames.
Last week, Politico revealed the breach may have exposed confidential informant identities, sealed criminal dockets, indictments, arrest warrants, and other nonpublic documents, potentially putting informants at risk.
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts confirmed the breach on August 7, calling it an “urgent matter” in an internal memo warning that “persistent and sophisticated cyber threat actors have recently compromised sealed records.”
This is not the first time Russian hackers have targeted PACER. In 2020, the SolarWinds cyberattack, attributed to Russian government operatives, exploited a tainted software update to gain backdoor access to numerous U.S. government systems, including PACER, leading to the theft of sealed court documents.
The U.S. Courts said it is working to enhance security, block future intrusions, and mitigate the impact on litigants.
