The United States Marshals Service (USMS) suffered a “major” security breach earlier this month when hackers broke into a computer system and accessed sensitive information about employees and investigative targets, officials confirmed on Feb. 27.
In a statement, a spokesman for USMS—which is responsible for apprehending and handling federal prisoners, pursuing fugitives, and operating the Witness Security Program—said the law enforcement agency discovered the hack and theft of data from its network on Feb. 17.
Spokesman Drew Wade told The Hill that the agency found that the “ransomware and data exfiltration event” had impacted a “stand-alone” system.
After discovering the breach, the Marshals Service “disconnected” the system and the Department of Justice began a forensic investigation, according to Wade.
“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 said.
Hellbound and Down 