Cyberattack on BAE Systems halts notices from federal bankruptcy courts
A cyberattack on BAE Systems has halted bankruptcy notices from federal courts, the Administrative Office of the US Courts said on Thursday. BAE says the incident is isolated to one system, and the office did not respond when asked if data was stolen.
The Watch · Security desk
Federal bankruptcy courts: the BNC produces and transmits notices for all of them. Administrative Office: access to BNC systems BAE operates is unavailable. BAE spokesperson: incident isolated to the BNC system. BAE Systems: investigating and working to restore operations.
- Who's exposed exposure Federal bankruptcy courts The BNC produces and transmits bankruptcy notices for all federal bankruptcy courts, claim 12
- What it costs cost Administrative Office Says all access to the BNC systems and websites BAE operates for the Judiciary is unavailable, claim 3
- Who has to decide decision BAE spokesperson Says the incident is isolated to the BNC system and immediate steps were taken to address it, claim 6
- What it limits constraint BAE Systems Actively investigating the incident and working to restore operations, the Administrative Office says, claim 7
| Who | How | Kind | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Federal bankruptcy courts | The BNC produces and transmits bankruptcy notices for all federal bankruptcy courts | exposure | 12 |
| Administrative Office | Says all access to the BNC systems and websites BAE operates for the Judiciary is unavailable | cost | 3 |
| BAE spokesperson | Says the incident is isolated to the BNC system and immediate steps were taken to address it | decision | 6 |
| BAE Systems | Actively investigating the incident and working to restore operations, the Administrative Office says | constraint | 7 |
What happened
- According to therecord.media, the Bankruptcy Noticing Center produces and transmits bankruptcy notices for all federal bankruptcy courts.
- The Administrative Office listed four items as unavailable: bnc.uscourts.gov, bankruptcynotices.uscourts.gov, notices.uscourts.gov and the National Creditor Registration Service.
- The office said it is in contact with the affected courts and coordinating with BAE, which it said is investigating and working to restore operations.
- On Wednesday, the Department of Transportation confirmed that a safety agency contact center went offline temporarily after a contractor was hit by a cyberattack, therecord.media reported.
Why it matters
- Who's exposed exposure One compromise at BAE reached every federal bankruptcy court at once. The judiciary's exposure for this function is set by a single contractor's defenses.
- What it limits constraint Notice production stays halted until BAE finishes investigating and restores the systems. The judiciary's stated role is coordination, so the timeline sits with the contractor.
- What doesn't add up contradiction BleepingComputer's headline says court operations are disrupted. The Administrative Office's statement covers the bankruptcy noticing systems and reports no halt to hearings or filings.
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BAE puts the incident inside one system. A spokesperson said, according to therecord.media, that the company is "aware of a security incident that is isolated to the BNC system and have taken immediate steps to address it" [6]. The scoping is BAE's own.
The Administrative Office's statement describes the same boundary from the courts' side. It says "all access to the BNC systems and websites that BAE operates on behalf of the Judiciary and the related bankruptcy noticing process are unavailable at this time" [3]. therecord.media reported that CISA, which typically handles cyberattacks on federal agencies, directed it to the US Courts, and that the FBI did not respond to requests for comment [15].
The judiciary has been attacked before. Hackers hit the federal courts' docketing system in early 2020 [13]. Last year the judiciary said it was acting on "recent escalated cyberattacks of a sophisticated and persistent nature on its case management system" [9] and placed certain sealed filings behind stricter access controls [10]. BleepingComputer recounts that Politico reported at the time that hackers had breached the CM/ECF and PACER platforms and reached sensitive data, including the identities of confidential informants. The judiciary stopped short of confirming a breach of confidential documents [11].
Both earlier attacks hit platforms the judiciary runs [13][8]. The BNC is a system BAE runs on its behalf [3].
What to watch
- Whether BAE or the Administrative Office confirms that notice production and the four listed sites are back, and on what date.
- Any statement on whether data was taken from the BNC systems or the National Creditor Registration Service.
- Any attribution to an actor, or any link between this incident and the earlier intrusions into the federal courts' case systems.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence72
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+8
- Incentives
- Not scored
- Confidence76
Perspective Coverage
7 publishers- Builder
- Builder 3%
- Operator
- Operator 71%
- Investor
- Investor 26%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
The Administrative Office of the US Courts says a cyberattack on government contractor BAE Systems has taken down the notice system used by federal bankruptcy courts.
- [2]
In a Thursday press release, the Administrative Office of the US Courts said the BAE Systems cyberattack halted the production and distribution of bankruptcy notices.
- [3]
The Administrative Office said: "all access to the BNC systems and websites that BAE operates on behalf of the Judiciary and the related bankruptcy noticing process are unavailable at this time."
- [4]
The unavailable systems include bnc.uscourts.gov, bankruptcynotices.uscourts.gov, notices.uscourts.gov, and the National Creditor Registration Service.
- [5]
The Administrative Office did not respond to requests for further details about the nature of the incident or whether data was stolen.
- [6]
A BAE spokesperson said the company is "aware of a security incident that is isolated to the BNC system and have taken immediate steps to address it."
- [7]
The Administrative Office said it has been in communication with the impacted courts and is coordinating with BAE Systems, and that BAE is actively investigating the incident and working to restore operations.
- [8]
The US Federal Judiciary said last year that it was strengthening cybersecurity defenses after a cyberattack impacted its electronic case management systems.
- [9]
The federal Judiciary said it was taking additional steps to strengthen protections for sensitive case documents "in response to recent escalated cyberattacks of a sophisticated and persistent nature on its case management system."
- [10]
The federal Judiciary said that while most documents in the system are public, it now protects certain sealed filings containing sensitive information with stricter access controls.
- [11]
The agency stopped short of confirming a breach of confidential documents, but a Politico report said at the time that hackers had breached the CM/ECF and PACER systems and gained access to sensitive data, including the identities of confidential informants.
- [12]
The Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC) is a system that produces and transmits bankruptcy notices for all federal bankruptcy courts.
- [13]
The federal courts docketing system was also attacked by hackers in early 2020.
- [14]
On Wednesday, the Department of Transportation confirmed that a safety agency contact center was temporarily taken offline after a contractor was hit with a cyberattack.
- [15]
CISA, which typically handles cyberattacks on federal agencies, directed Recorded Future News to the US Courts, and the FBI did not respond to requests for comment.
- [16]
BleepingComputer's headline on the incident reads "BAE Systems cyberattack disrupts US federal court operations."
Sources
6 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- bleepingcomputer.comBAE Systems cyberattack disrupts US federal court operations
1 article · October 16, 2026
- channelnewsasia.comUS federal bankruptcy court operations disrupted by cybersecurity incident
1 article · October 16, 2026
- cyberscoop.comCybersecurity incident at BAE Systems disrupts US bankruptcy court system
1 article · October 16, 2026
- infosecurity-magazine.comCyber Incident at BAE Systems Disrupts US Federal Bankruptcy Noticing
1 article · October 16, 2026
- mezha.netКіберінцидент порушив роботу федеральних судів США у справах про банкрутство
1 article · October 16, 2026
- securityweek.comBAE Systems Security Incident Stalls Notices From US Bankruptcy Courts
1 article · October 16, 2026
- therecord.mediaFederal bankruptcy courts dealing with outages after contractor cyberattack
1 article · October 15, 2026
Topics and entities
Topics
- Government contractor cyberattacks
- Bankruptcy courts
- Federal courts cybersecurity
Entities
- BAE Systems
- Bankruptcy Noticing Center
- CISA
- Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts