The US Marshals service fell victim to a ransomware security breach this month that compromised sensitive law enforcement information, a spokesperson said on Monday.
The federal agency which is perhaps best known for its work in tracking down and capturing fugitives wanted by law enforcement notified the US government of the breach, and agents there began a forensic investigation, the chief of the Marshals’ public affairs office, Drew Wade, told Reuters in a statement.
“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 to Reuters.
The cyber-attack took place on 17 February, when the agency “discovered a ransomware and data exfiltration event affecting a stand-alone [Marshals] system”, after which the system was disconnected from the network, Wade said.
The Marshals service is part of the US justice department. Besides its work with fugitives, it also provides security at federal courthouses across the country, among other duties.
Reuters contributed reporting
