Russian Government Allegedly Involved in US Court Filing System Data Breach

The Russian government is allegedly “at least in part responsible” for a data breach targeting the U.S. court filing system, PACER.

The hackers searched for “midlevel criminal cases” in several jurisdictions, including New York City, TechCrunch reported Tuesday (Aug. 12), citing a paywalled article by The New York Times that is based on anonymous sources.

The report also cited a Politico article that said the hack of the system could expose the identities of confidential informants as well as other documents that are not yet public or may never be made publicly available.

The Administrative Office of the United States Courts said in a Thursday (Aug. 7) press release that it is working to strengthen protections for sensitive case documents and enhance the security of its case management system. It also said it is working with courts to mitigate the impact on litigants and collaborating with Congress and the executive branch to mitigate the risks of cyberattacks.

The agency said it was doing so in response to “recent escalated cyberattacks of a sophisticated and persistent nature on its case management system.”

“As other federal government and private entities likewise continue to experience, cyber risks continue to evolve as threat actors grow more sophisticated and change and adapt their tactics, and safeguarding legacy systems poses a particularly difficult challenge,” the Administrative Office of the United States Courts said in its press release. “In tackling cybersecurity threats, the Judiciary embraces its security obligations and remains committed to leveraging all available resources to include collaboration with law enforcement, national security and cybersecurity organizations, and other information sharing entities.”

Data breaches that compromised millions of user records placed cybersecurity center stage in 2024 and highlighted the need for security in 2025, PYMNTS reported in December.

In April, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said in a press release that it notified Congress of a “major security incident” in which there was unauthorized access to OCC email and email attachments.

The OCC said that the unauthorized access included “highly sensitive information relating to the financial condition of federally regulated financial institutions.”