Cartels May Be Able To Target Witnesses After Major Court Hack

Latin American drug cartels are feared to be among those that obtained sensitive court data due to a sweeping breach of the federal judiciary’s case filing system, raising concerns that the groups will now be able to target cooperating witnesses involved in criminal trials against them.

The worry, according to three judicial officials and investigators with knowledge of the hack, is that cartels could weaponize the stolen data to identify witnesses in cases the federal government has opened against them, or to gain knowledge of impending or ongoing criminal investigations, such as sealed wiretap orders and arrest and search warrants.

POLITICO first reported on the hack, which the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts determined was serious in early July.

At least a dozen district courts across several U.S. states are believed to have been directly impacted by the ongoing compromise of the digital case filing system, known as CM/ECF, according to the first two people. The incident is believed to be one of the most serious hacks into the federal court filing system in years.

It’s unclear if the cartels were directly connected to each of those breaches because multiple nation-states and criminal groups are thought to have penetrated CM/ECF simultaneously, while at least some of those groups have been inside the system for years, the first two people said. All three people were granted anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

It is also possible that the cartels are purchasing the data from other hackers with access to the system.

The news about the cartels gaining access to sensitive criminal court data comes as the Trump administration is ramping up the federal government’s efforts to prosecute criminal activity from Latin American drug gangs, such as Tren de Aragua, MS-13 and the Sinaloa cartel.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that Trump has signed a secret order authorizing the Defense Department to use military force against certain drug cartels.