Once again, federal law enforcement is grappling with a cybersecurity incident. The US Marshals Service (USMS) announces a major ransomware assault on February 17th. The criminals compromised sensitive data on a separate system, including personally identifiable information for certain USMS employees, third parties, and investigation targets.
We’ve reached out to the USMS for comment. The agency tells CNBC that after finding the intrusion, it unplugged the infected machine from the network, and that the Justice Department has initiated an inquiry. On February 22nd, senior authorities briefed on the ransomware assessed it was a “significant” occurrence.
The service has not identified any probable perpetrators or identified any affected divisions or programmes. According to a CNBC source, the malware did not affect the Witness Security Program. The USMS has apparently devised a workaround to continue its operations, including the pursuit of fugitives.
The compromise comes little over a week after the FBI said that it had “contained” a security problem on its network. In recent months, ransomware has also become a source of concern for several levels of government and public entities. After an infiltration, the city of Oakland declared a state of emergency in February, while the Los Angeles Unified School System was similarly shaken by a digital robbery last autumn.
In the last two years, the US government has increased its efforts to combat ransomware. It recently succeeded in halting a big ransomware organisation that stole hundreds of millions of dollars from victims by bringing 30 nations together to confront ransomware in 2021. The USMS breach, on the other hand, demonstrates that the war is far from done.
