A cyberattack on BAE Systems, a major U.S. government contractor, has disrupted operations across federal bankruptcy courts nationwide. The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts announced on Thursday that the attack affected the Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC), which is responsible for generating and transmitting bankruptcy notices for all federal courts.
Officials stated that the BNC systems and related websites, including bnc.uscourts.gov and bankruptcynotices.uscourts.gov, are currently inaccessible. This outage has halted the production of bankruptcy notices entirely. While BAE Systems is investigating the incident and coordinating with the courts, details regarding the nature of the attack or whether any data was compromised remain unclear.
BAE Systems, a prominent defense contractor with extensive ties to the U.S. government, acknowledged the incident as isolated to the BNC system and confirmed that immediate measures are being taken to address the situation. A spokesperson emphasized their close collaboration with the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts in managing the response.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), which typically oversees cyber incidents affecting federal agencies, directed inquiries to the U.S. Courts. The FBI has not commented on the matter. This incident follows a recent breach of Arizona’s state court system, where hackers leaked information on over 1.3 million individuals.
In light of escalating cyber threats, U.S. federal court officials have previously indicated efforts to enhance online security for sensitive documents and case files. These measures were prompted by a significant hack of the courts’ case filing system, which raised concerns about the exposure of confidential informants’ identities. The federal courts’ docketing system was also targeted by hackers in early 2020.
The recent attack on BAE Systems is part of a broader trend of cyberattacks impacting U.S. government entities, including recent incidents involving the Defense Department and the FBI. Additionally, the Department of Transportation confirmed that a cyberattack on a contractor led to the temporary shutdown of a safety agency contact center.
As investigations continue, the implications of this incident for the integrity of federal bankruptcy processes and the security of sensitive information remain to be seen. For further details, see the report from The Record.
