The Justice Department is looking into a ransomware attack that targeted one of the U.S. Marshals Service’s systems earlier this month.
According to reports, the U.S. Marshals Service was the target of a ransomware attack. According to reports, the attack disrupted the agency’s email systems and forced officials to shut down certain computer systems as a precaution. The full extent of the damage caused by the attack is unknown, but the agency stated that it was investigating the incident with other federal partners.
The agency, which is part of the Justice Department, stated that the attack was discovered on February 17 but did not specify when the information was stolen. According to the Marshals Service, the hackers targeted a single stand-alone system, which the agency disconnected as soon as it became aware of the attack.
Drew J. Wade, a Marshals Service spokesman, said he didn’t know what the hackers had demanded. He refused to answer additional questions about who carried out the attack or which system was targeted.
“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 revealed.
The breach was discovered on February 17 by the U.S. Marshals Service, according to the officer. It then disconnected the affected system and contacted the Department of Justice (DOJ) to start a forensic investigation.
The Department of Justice classified the breach as a “major incident,” indicating that it was likely to cause demonstrable harm to US national security, foreign relations, the economy, public trust, civil liberties, or the public health and safety of the American people.
The sources for this piece include an article in Axios.