US Marshals Service hacked Ransomware attack led to data theft.

A ransomware attack on the US Marshals Service (USMS) affected a computer system that appeared to contain “sensitive law enforcement information,” including personal information belonging to investigative targets.

The US Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. As part of the Department of Justice, it is responsible for protecting the federal courts and upholding the rule of law.

Provides support to all elements of the federal justice system by executing federal court orders, seizing ill-gotten assets, ensuring the safety of government witnesses and their families, and more.

It is the oldest federal law enforcement agency in the United States (since 1789)”The affected system contains sensitive information, including legal process returns, administrative information and personally identifiable information belonging to USMS investigative targets, third parties and certain USMS employees,” said spokesman Drew Wade.

The Marshals Service, which handles federal inmates and pursues fugitives, discovered the breach and data theft on February 17. The agency “took the affected system offline and the Department of Justice has begun an investigation,” Wade added.

After careful evaluation, the Department of Justice concluded that this was a significant incident, meaning it is serious enough to notify Congress.

A senior official said the hack did not lead to the theft of data related to the witness protection program.

Of course, the Department of Justice’s investigation into the incident is ongoing.

This incident follows another data breach that was disclosed in May 2020, after the US Marshals Service exposed the information of more than 387,000 former and current inmates in an incident in December 2019. This information included names, dates of birth, home addresses and social security numbers.

Additionally, the new hack is the second major malicious incident to affect US federal law enforcement agencies in February.

Earlier this month, the FBI took steps to curb malicious activity on part of its computer network. FBI officials believe the incident involved an FBI computer system used in investigations of child sexual exploitation images.