ATF investigates ‘major’ cybersecurity incident as ransomware group claims attack

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) said Wednesday it is investigating a cybersecurity incident involving a standalone system, which senior Justice Department officials have designated a "major incident" under federal guidelines.

The disclosure comes as the Qilin ransomware group claimed ATF as a victim, according to cybersecurity outlets tracking the group's leak site. The group has not publicly provided evidence substantiating its claim, and the ATF has not attributed the incident to Qilin.

The ATF said the affected system operates separately from its enterprise network and that there is no indication the incident affected the agency's broader network, its eForms system or any other ATF system.

The agency disconnected the affected environment after discovering the incident and launched forensic and incident-response efforts. The ATF is coordinating with the Justice Department as it investigates what happened.

FBI WRAPS UP CYBERCRIME OPERATION TARGETING GLOBAL NETWORKS PREYING ON AMERICANS<...