In response to a recent surge in cyber threats, federal judiciary officials announced they are implementing enhanced security measures for sensitive case documents. Reports from the New York Times indicate that investigators have identified Russia as “at least partially responsible” for a recent cybersecurity breach impacting the U.S. court system. This breach was previously covered by Politico, which noted that it likely leaked sensitive data across several states.
The attackers reportedly targeted cases involving individuals with Russian and Eastern European names, potentially compromising confidential records that are not publicly available.
Following the SolarWinds breach in 2021, guidelines were established which mandated that highly sensitive documents be submitted via paper or secure electronic appliances, rather than through the Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) system. In 2022, the Department of Justice reportedly alerted the judiciary about another ongoing breach.
According to the Times, district court chief judges received a warning last month advising against filing cases associated with “criminal activity with an overseas tie” in the standard document management system, which includes CM/ECF and PACER—a publicly accessible database. Chief Judge Margo Brodie of the Eastern District of New York issued an order stating that until further notice, “criminal cases and cases related to criminal investigations are prohibited from being filed in CM/ECF,” and instead must be uploaded to an alternative system that is not connected to PACER.
The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts emphasized in a notice released last week:
The majority of documents submitted to the judiciary’s electronic case management system are not confidential and are available to the public, which is essential for maintaining an open and transparent judicial system. Nonetheless, certain documents contain proprietary or confidential information that are sealed from public access.
These sensitive documents are attractive targets for various threat actors. To enhance their protection, courts are adopting stricter protocols to manage access to sensitive information under closely monitored conditions.
