The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE) announced on Aug. 27 that it has suffered a cybersecurity incident.
“The impacted system operates separately from the ATF enterprise network, and there is no indication that the incident has affected the ATF enterprise network, the ATF eForms system, or any other ATF system,” the press release states. “Upon discovery of the incident, ATF immediately terminated connections to the affected environment and initiated incident‑response and forensic activities. ATF is coordinating closely with the Department of Justice to investigate.”
CyberNews reports the announcement came hours after Qilin—a Russia-based hacker group that specializes in ransomware—added six new names to its list of breached systems on the dark web. The BATFE was among the names.
No sample BATFE files were uploaded to the dark web, a common criminal practice that allows purchasers to verify the data is genuine. Three of the other five infiltration announcements, however, were accompanied by a measured amount of proof.
The Russian gang, which was first identified by officials in 2022, specializes in double extortion ransomware—stealing files and threatening to release them unless payment is received. Experts claim the group is one of the most organized and active on the internet. It’s estimated it has successfully breached nearly 900 systems so far this year.
Despite the infiltrated system operating separately, ATF officials have designated the breach a “major incident.” Any federal cyber incident that meets a certain minimum threshold receives that designation.
This incursion is the latest in a disturbing string of hacked federal government systems in the last 12 months. Early this year, it was the FBI. In July, the Department of Homeland Security was victimized, and late last year, the Federal Emergency Management Agency suffered a cybersecurity incident.
The agency noted that there is no impact to ATF’s ability to perform its missions. Anyone with information related to the crime can submit a tip through the ATF Tipline by phoning (888)-ATF-TIPS.
