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The US Marshals Service has had a raft of data compromised by a ransomware attack this month.
Drew Wade, chief of the Marshals Service public affairs office, said in a statement on Monday (27 February) that the attack happened on 17 February. A standalone system was affected by a “ransomware and data exfiltration event”.
The system was subsequently removed from the service’s wider network.
“The affected system contains law enforcement sensitive information, including returns from legal process, administrative information, and personally identifiable information pertaining to subjects of USMS investigations, third parties, and certain USMS employees,” Wade said in a statement.
On Wednesday (1 March), he said that the service was considering the attack a “major incident”.
The US Marshals Service is a federal law enforcement agency operating under the Department of Justice. It is the enforcement arm of the federal court system, responsible for the protection of judges, managing fugitive operations, and the Witness Protection Program.
According to NBC News, a senior official has said that the breach has not affected anyone within the program.
US law enforcement agencies are coming under increasing pressure from hacking groups. The FBI was thought to have fallen victim to hackers after malicious activity was detected on its network. The incident took place in the FBI’s New York office while using a device to investigate the child abuse material.
“The FBI is aware of the incident and is working to gain additional information,” said an FBI spokesperson.
“This is an isolated incident that has been contained. As this is an ongoing investigation, the FBI does not have further comment to provide at this time.”
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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