The U.S. Marshals Service suffered a security breach over a week ago that compromises sensitive information, senior U.S. law enforcement officials said Monday. Marshals Service spokesperson Drew Wade acknowledged the breach and according to NBC News said: “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 the incident occurred Feb. 17, when the agency "discovered a ransomware and data exfiltration event affecting a stand-alone USMS system."
The Justice Department began a forensic investigation after the system was disconnected from the network. He added that after the agency briefed senior department officials, "those officials determined that it constitutes a major incident.” A senior official familiar with the incident said the breach did not involve the database involving the Witness Security Program, commonly known as the witness protection program. No one in the witness protection program is in danger because of the breach. Nevertheless, the official said, the incident is significant, affecting law enforcement's sensitive information pertaining to the subjects of investigations. The agency has been able to continue operations and efforts to track down fugitives despite the security breach.