National Creditor Registration Service offline as BAE breach blocks bankruptcy notices

A cyber incident at British defence contractor BAE Systems has disrupted the central platform responsible for sending official notices from every US federal bankruptcy court. The breach has forced a complete halt to the production and distribution of these legal documents, affecting the entire national bankruptcy system.

The Administrative Office of the US Courts confirmed the disruption on Thursday afternoon, stating that BAE Systems IT infrastructure supporting the Bankruptcy Noticing Center was impacted. Consequently, all access to the systems operated by BAE on behalf of the Federal Judiciary is unavailable. This includes key websites such as bnc.uscourts.gov, bankruptcynotices.uscourts.gov, and notices.uscourts.gov.

What we know

According to the US Courts, the incident has rendered the National Creditor Registration Service inaccessible alongside the main noticing platforms. BAE Systems stated it is aware of the security incident and has taken immediate steps to address it. The company noted that the issue is isolated to the BNC system. Authorities are coordinating with affected courts while BAE actively investigates the breach to restore operations.

CISA referred questions regarding the attack to the US Courts, indicating that the judiciary is leading the response. There is no official confirmation on the company’s website yet, but BAE told BleepingComputer it is working closely with the Administrative Office. No details on data exposure or attribution have been released.

Defender's checklist

• Verify if any internal systems rely on external legal notice feeds for automated processing.
• Check whether manual workarounds are required for pending bankruptcy filings or creditor registrations.
• Monitor official judiciary channels for updates on service restoration timelines.
• Ensure staff are aware that official notices may be delayed or unavailable temporarily.

The background in plain language

Organisations often outsource critical IT infrastructure to specialised vendors to manage complex systems efficiently. In this case, a single contractor handles the central noticing service for the entire federal judiciary. When a security incident affects such a centralised provider, the impact spreads quickly across all dependent services. Teams usually monitor vendor health dashboards and have contingency plans for communication delays. Check whether your organisation depends on similar third-party platforms for essential legal or regulatory notifications.

What to do and how to stay safe: BAE Systems

• Check the official US Courts website for the latest status updates on the Bankruptcy Noticing Center.
• Contact your legal representatives directly to confirm if any recent notices were missed or delayed.
• Do not attempt to access the offline BAE-operated websites repeatedly, as this may increase system load.
• Once the vendor provides an update, verify that all pending legal notices have been distributed correctly.

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General security guidance from the TechWire Beat newsroom. It is not confirmed advice from the organisations named in this story.

Frequently asked questions

Which specific systems are affected by the BAE Systems cyber incident?

The Bankruptcy Noticing Center systems, including bnc.uscourts.gov, bankruptcynotices.uscourts.gov, notices.uscourts.gov, and the National Creditor Registration Service.

Has BAE Systems confirmed whether data was stolen in the breach?

No, there is no official confirmation or clarification on data exposure or attribution yet.

Who is operating the Bankruptcy Noticing Center on behalf of the US Judiciary?

BAE Systems, a British multinational defence and security company, operates the BNC systems and websites.