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Marshals Service suffers hack and theft of sensitive information

The cyber intrusion resulted in the hijacking and theft of data such as administrative reports and information on fugitives and employees.

Varios agentes del Servicio de Marshals de Estados Unidos durante un operativo. (Imagen de archivo).

(Wikimedia Commons)

Published by
Alejandro Baños

The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) suffered a computer attack that compromised sensitive federal agency information.

Drew Wade, a spokesman for the U.S. Marshals Service, told NCB News that the Feb. 17 security breach damaged the system containing administrative, investigative and fugitive information, but did not, he said, compromise the Witness Security Program database:

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.

The federal agency, which is part of the Department of Justice (DoJ), reported a ransomware (data hijacking) and data breach that affected one of its standalone systems.

"Major incident"

Following the computer intrusion, the system was immediately disconnected from the USMS network and an investigation was launched and is still ongoing. "We are working quickly and effectively to mitigate any potential risks arising from the incident," Wade said. On February 22, following a USMS meeting, the DoJ determined that this cyberattack amounted to a "major incident" at the federal agency.

The White House has labelled a cybersecurity "major incident" as one that "results in demonstrable harm to the national security interests, foreign relations, or economy of the United States or to the public confidence, civil liberties, or public health and safety of the American people." An incident that comes days before Biden releases the new National Cybersecurity Strategy.

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