(CN) - A massive cyberattack targeting the federal judicial system took down court websites Friday, preventing attorneys, media and the public from accessing court records.
The denial-of-service attack took down the federal judiciary's www.uscourts.gov website, and several district, circuit and bankruptcy court sites, Politico first reported.
The attack also took down each court's Case Management/Electronic Case Files (CM/ECF) database that attorneys and litigants use to submit filings, as well as each court's Public Access to Court Electronic Records (PACER) database that provides the media and public with access to court records.
A spokesman for the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts told The Washington Times the sites began going down at 3:22 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, with access restored by 7:00 p.m.
The U.S. Supreme Court's site was not affected.
An unidentified federal district clerk employee in Arkansas sent an email earlier Friday that stated the attack appeared to be "a new national cyberattack on the judiciary," Politico reported.
The Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
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