Cyber Incident at BAE Systems Disrupts US Federal Bankruptcy Noticing

A cybersecurity incident affecting US government contractor BAE Systems has knocked out the systems that generate and distribute bankruptcy notices for federal courts across the US. A notice published on October 15 by the Administrative Office of the US Courts (AOUSC) confirmed that IT systems and websites supporting the Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC) have been impacted. The BNC is responsible for producing and transmitting bankruptcy notices for all federal bankruptcy courts nationwide. BAE Systems operates the BNC infrastructure on behalf of the Federal Judiciary. As a result of the incident, that process has been brought to a standstill. The judiciary said all access to BNC systems and websites operated by BAE is currently unavailable, including: - bnc.uscourts.gov - bankruptcynotices.uscourts.gov - notices.uscourts.gov - The National Creditor Registration Service The disruption has also halted the production and distribution of bankruptcy notices for courts across the country. The Administrative Office of the US Courts said it is in communication with the affected courts and coordinating with BAE Systems. BAE is actively investigating the incident and working to restore operations, according to the notice. "We are aware of a security incident that is isolated to the BNC system and have taken immediate steps to address it. We are coordinating closely with AOUSC on the response," a BAE Systems spokesperson told Infosecurity. The judiciary did not disclose the nature of the cyber incident, when it began, or whether any data was accessed or exfiltrated. No timeline for restoration of services has been provided. Image credits: Michael Vi / 010110010101101 / Shutterstock.com