# Cyberattack Halts U.S. Federal Bankruptcy Court Operations A cyberattack targeting a U.S. government contractor has disrupted the platform relied upon by all federal bankruptcy courts across the nation. The incident, confirmed by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, has specifically impacted the Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC), a system crucial for generating and distributing bankruptcy notices. ## BAE Systems Confirms Incident **BAE Systems**, a British multinational defense contractor, is at the center of the disruption. The company provides a range of services to the U.S. Government, including aerospace, weapons, and information security. Officials from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts stated that they are in communication with affected courts and coordinating with **BAE Systems**. "**BAE** is actively investigating this incident and working to restore operations," the officials noted. ## Widespread Impact on Bankruptcy Processes As a direct consequence of the attack, all access to **BNC** systems and websites operated by **BAE Systems** on behalf of the judiciary are currently unavailable. This includes critical platforms such as bnc.uscourts.gov, bankruptcynotices.uscourts.gov, notices.uscourts.gov, and the National Creditor Registration Service. The incident has completely halted the production of bankruptcy notices. Neither the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts nor **BAE Systems** has provided further details regarding the nature of the cyberattack or whether any data was compromised. **BAE Systems** issued a statement acknowledging awareness of "a security incident that is isolated to the **BNC** system" and confirmed immediate steps have been taken to address it. They also stated close coordination with the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts on the response. ## Growing Trend of Attacks on U.S. Judiciary This incident follows a series of cyberattacks targeting the U.S. government and judiciary. Weeks prior, Arizona's state court system experienced a breach that resulted in the leak of information belonging to over 1.3 million individuals. Last year, federal court officials committed to bolstering online security for sensitive documents and case files after a significant hack of the courts’ case filing system, which raised fears about exposing the identities of confidential informants. The federal courts' docketing system also faced a hacker attack in early 2020. Recent weeks have seen other U.S. government entities targeted, including incidents involving the **Defense Department** and the **FBI**. Just recently, the **Department of Transportation** confirmed a cyberattack on a contractor temporarily took a safety agency contact center offline.