Cyberattack on BAE Systems disrupts US federal court operations

A cyberattack on government contractor BAE Systems has disrupted operations at US federal bankruptcy courts, according to the Administrative Office of the US Courts.

The office said in a Thursday press release that the incident took down the BNC notice system and halted the production and distribution of bankruptcy notices. Access to BNC systems and websites operated by BAE on behalf of the Judiciary, as well as the related bankruptcy noticing process, was unavailable. The affected sites include bnc.uscourts.gov, bankruptcynotices.uscourts.gov and notices.uscourts.gov, along with the National Creditor Registration Service.

The Administrative Office said it was in contact with affected courts and coordinating with BAE Systems. The company was investigating the incident and working to restore operations. BleepingComputer said US Courts and BAE Systems representatives were not immediately available to comment when contacted for more information.

The disruption comes after the federal Judiciary said last year it was strengthening cybersecurity protections for its electronic case management systems following a cyberattack. It said additional safeguards were being applied to certain sealed filings containing sensitive information. The agency did not confirm that confidential documents had been breached. A Politico report at the time said hackers had accessed case management systems and the PACER platform, including sensitive data.