Russia’s Alleged Role in Hacking US Federal Courts’ Databases

Key Highlights

• Incident: US federal court databases have been hacked, raising concerns about cybersecurity.
• Involvement: Russia is suspected to be implicated in the cyberattack on the court systems.
• Systems Affected: Both the Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) and PACER systems were compromised.
• Response: Courts are implementing new protections and moving sensitive files off the compromised systems.

Databases used by US federal courts for sharing and managing case documents have been hacked. first reported on the hack last week on August 6; today, an investigation from states that Russia is suspected to be involved in the attack. The Administrative Office of the US Courts initially identified the severity of the cyberattack in July, although the extent of the breach by “persistent and sophisticated cyber threat actors” has not been disclosed and may still not be known by national officials.

Both the Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) and PACER systems have been impacted by the attack. CM/ECF is used by legal professionals and courts to store documents, while PACER grants the public limited access to those same files. Anonymous officials told Politico that chief judges for federal courts in the 8th Circuit were briefed on the attack, but were unable to confirm what agency provided the briefing. The 8th Circuit includes Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

Politico‘s original report said the hack may have “compromised the identities of confidential informants involved in criminal cases at multiple federal district courts.” The Times coverage added that some of the searches by the intruders “included midlevel criminal cases in the New York City area and several other jurisdictions, with some cases involving people with Russian and Eastern European surnames.” However, there have been no additional details revealed about what entity is behind the attack, whether a branch of Russian intelligence may have been involved, or what evidence the investigators have discovered tying the hack to Russia.

The isn’t the only time CM/ECF has been a hacking target. The courts introduced new protections for the system in response to a cyberattack; a similar arrived on August 7. At this time, the courts have been ordered to move files for cases that may have been of interest off the compromised systems, although some districts have ordered even more limited use of CM/ECF or PACER as a preventive measure.