Until recently, even the most secretive material — about wiretaps, witnesses and national security concerns – could be filed electronically. But that changed after the massive Russian hacking campaign that breached the
The new rules for filing sensitive documents are one of the clearest ways the hack has affected the court system. But the full impact remains unknown. Hackers probably gained access to the vast trove of confidential information hidden in sealed documents, including trade secrets, espionage targets, whistleblower reports and arrest warrants. It could take years to learn what information was obtained and what hackers are doing with it.
It's also not clear that the intrusion has been stopped, prompting the rules on paper filings. Those documents are now uploaded to a stand-alone computer at the courthouse — one not connected to the network or Internet. That means lawyers cannot access the documents from outside the courthouse.
Fisher is defending
“It would be cumbersome if we do have to start filing pleadings during the litigation on paper. That’s going to be more difficult,” Fisher said. “Particularly during COVID. Most of us are working from home.”
The Russian intrusion through the
“I don’t think we know what motivated the Russians in this case to target the court system — whether it was a target of opportunity enabled by this
Though the entry point in the
Federal court operations are largely decentralized. Each of the 13 circuits adopts its own rules and security measures. Some courts encrypt documents filed under seal, but others do not, according to court employees who spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the security breach.
Either way, anyone sophisticated enough to launch the
Criminal, civil and bankruptcy filings are believed to have been compromised, but not the
Senators are pressing court officials and the
“I fear that we do not know how
Some worry that the new rules will reduce public access to court proceedings, but they could also make judges rethink whether a seal or paper filing is really necessary. Court transparency advocates feel that judges have been on a sealing binge in recent years, keeping the public in the dark about important evidence in product liability, public corruption and other cases.
But others say the need for privacy is real, especially when it comes to corporate fights over patent secrets or other intellectual property, or whistleblower complaints, which remain secret while the government investigates. They fear that companies could be shaken down or see their stock price plummet if the information is exposed.
“There's an underlying concern about what was breached. Our cases do ultimately come out from under seal, but the risk is a compromise in the interim, of a federal investigation or our clients,” said lawyer
"We tend to still look at this stuff as spy versus spy. But the reality is, it's not just about a specific targeted interest. It's about exploiting everything to make money, to benefit the state, to undermine the U.S.,” he said.
But
Retired
“We have assured counsel that you can file on our system, electronically, confidential material that will be sealed, and not subject to being hacked,” he said. "And here we are, hacked.”
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