PANIC in DC: PACER Judicial Records System Hacked

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“In a stunning blow to the U.S. judicial system’s digital infrastructure, hackers have breached the federal courts’ electronic filing and records platforms, exposing sensitive data that could jeopardize ongoing investigations and the safety of confidential informants. The intrusion, first reported on August 6, 2025, targeted the Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) and the Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) systems, which handle millions of court documents annually across all federal districts. Officials fear that sealed records, witness identities, and case details from multiple states have been compromised, marking one of the most significant cyberattacks on American legal institutions in recent years.

The breach came to light through internal alerts within the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, prompting an immediate shutdown of affected systems for forensic analysis. According to sources familiar with the matter, the attack exploited vulnerabilities in outdated software components, allowing unauthorized access to databases that store everything from criminal indictments to civil litigation files. This isn’t the first time the judiciary has faced such threats; a similar incident in 2021, linked to the SolarWinds hack, raised alarms about foreign espionage, as detailed in reports from The Wall Street Journal.

The Scope of the Intrusion and Initial Responses
Investigators believe the hackers, potentially state-sponsored actors from adversaries like Russia or China, infiltrated the systems as early as mid-2024, siphoning data over months before detection. Politico, in its August 6 coverage, cited insiders who described the hack as “sweeping,” with fears that informant identities in high-profile cases—ranging from drug trafficking to national security matters—may now be in the hands of malicious entities. The Justice Department has launched a full investigation, coordinating with cybersecurity firms to assess the damage, while federal judges have been advised to review and reseal compromised documents.

Reuters echoed these concerns in an August 7 report, noting that the breach affected courts in at least a dozen states, including California, New York, and Texas. The exposure of sealed records could lead to witness tampering or retaliation, prompting urgent relocations for some individuals under protection. Cybersecurity experts point out that PACER’s paywall model, while intended to fund operations, has long masked deeper security flaws, such as insufficient encryption for sensitive uploads.

Historical Context and Systemic Vulnerabilities

This incident builds on a pattern of cyberattacks targeting U.S. government entities. A 2022 breach, investigated by the Justice Department and reported by Politico, involved a “system security failure” in the courts’ document management, leading to temporary filing halts. More recently, posts on X (formerly Twitter) from cybersecurity accounts have highlighted ongoing concerns, with users speculating on foreign involvement based on the attack’s sophistication, though no official attribution has been made public as of August 9, 2025.

Drawing from a deep dive by Wired, the hack exploited legacy code in CM/ECF, a system dating back to the 1990s, which lacks modern defenses against advanced persistent threats. Wired’s analysis reveals how attackers used phishing tactics combined with zero-day exploits to gain administrative privileges, potentially downloading terabytes of data. This vulnerability underscores a broader issue: federal IT budgets for the judiciary have lagged behind those of executive agencies, leaving critical infrastructure exposed…”

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