ATF Reports Hack on Standalone System, Says Missions Unaffected

The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said it was investigating a cybersecurity incident affecting a standalone system.

The event has not impacted ATF’s ability to perform its missions, according to the statement. The ATF is a Justice Department law enforcement agency tasked with investigating violent crime.

The system that was hacked is separate from ATF’s main computer network, the agency said in a statement Wednesday. The ATF said there is no sign that the incident affected its broader network, online firearms forms or any other systems. The agency didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

A major ransomware gang, Qilin, has claimed responsibility for the hack but provided no evidence to back up the claim.

Qilin is a four-year-old ransomware gang that has been increasingly active over the last year, according to the cybersecurity firm Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. Halcyon, a ransomware defense company, considers Qilin a critical threat and says it is among the world’s most active ransomware groups, targeting dozens of victims each month.

The hackers recruit members on Russian-language forums and operate independently while targeting victims around the world, according to Halcyon. The group explicitly avoids targets in Russia and other former Soviet states.

ATF’s announcement came a day after the Justice Department said that American authorities had disrupted online infrastructure used by Chinese state sponsored hackers to infiltrate US government agencies including NASA, the Energy Department and the Federal Reserve.