Russian hackers target secret cases in US courts - NYT
Illustrative photo: Russian hackers targeted confidential cases in US courts (GettyImages)
Russia is likely involved in hacking the computer system that manages US federal court documents. Hackers gained access to top-secret materials, according to The New York Times.
It is currently unknown which entity is responsible for the hack. It could be a Russian intelligence unit, or other countries could have been involved. Some sources have described this attack as a long-standing attempt to infiltrate the system.
After hacking into the computer system that manages US federal court documents, the hackers specifically searched for Russian and Eastern European names, as well as mid-level criminal cases in New York and other jurisdictions. This information surfaced at an unfavorable moment for Donald Trump — on the eve of his planned meeting with Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, where they plan to discuss ending the war in Ukraine.
In the past, Trump has accepted Putin's explanations regarding Russian espionage. At the 2018 Helsinki summit, he publicly rejected the conclusions of US intelligence agencies about Russia's interference in the 2016 elections.
Judicial administrators recently informed the US Department of Justice, court clerks, and chief judges of federal courts that highly skilled cybercriminals have gained access to classified materials. They were urged to urgently remove the most sensitive documents from the database.
According to the investigation, the attack affected cases with a foreign connection in at least eight federal districts. Last month, chief judges across the country were confidentially warned of the need to remove such materials from the main document management system, while prohibiting them from discussing this with other judges in their districts.
In recent weeks, the Eastern District of New York has tightened security measures: Chief Judge Margo K. Brodie has banned the uploading of classified documents to the publicly accessible PACER database. From now on, they will be stored on a separate disk, isolated from the main system.
The US is currently trying to determine the extent of the hack and eliminate vulnerabilities in its sprawling computer network, which has long been considered a potential target for foreign adversaries. Last week, the court system administration announced that it was taking additional measures to protect the network, including the electronic case management system and the PACER database.
Earlier, Bloomberg wrote that Ukraine had become an easy target for Russian hackers because the US had reduced its cybersecurity assistance to the country.
