The U.S. Federal Judiciary has confirmed a cyberattack targeting its electronic case management systems, which store both public and confidential court documents. In response, the agency has moved to strengthen cybersecurity defenses, especially around sealed filings containing sensitive information.
“The federal Judiciary is taking additional steps to strengthen protections for sensitive case documents in response to recent escalated cyberattacks of a sophisticated and persistent nature on its case management system,” the agency stated.
“The Judiciary is also further enhancing security of the system and to block future attacks, and it is prioritizing working with courts to mitigate the impact on litigants.”
Sealed Filings And Sensitive Data Now Under Stricter Protection
While most documents in the affected systems are publicly accessible, sealed filings — which can contain highly sensitive information — are now restricted under stricter access controls to prevent further compromise.
The Judiciary also emphasized that cyberattacks have increased in both volume and sophistication, making it harder to secure older, legacy systems.
The confirmation follows a Politico report earlier this week, which alleged that the breach exposed sensitive details, including the identities of confidential informants. According to the report, the incident affected multiple federal court districts and compromised two key platforms:
- CM/ECF (Case Management/Electronic Case Files) – the core system for managing federal court documents
- PACER (Public Access To Court Electronic Records) – the primary public access system for court filings
Anonymous sources told Politico that the Judiciary realized the full scale of the breach on July 4, 2025, with an internal briefing held shortly after. However, no public disclosure was made at that time.
Judiciary Stops Short Of Confirming PACER Document Compromise
Although the agency’s statement does not explicitly confirm a breach of PACER’s confidential documents, its reference to working closely with courts to “mitigate the impact on litigants” suggests sensitive information may have been compromised.
Both the U.S. Federal Judiciary and the U.S. Department of Justice have declined to comment beyond the published statement.
