Federal bankruptcy courts across the United States are experiencing disruptions after a cybersecurity incident affected systems operated by British defense and technology company BAE Systems. The attack has temporarily stopped the distribution of official bankruptcy notices, creating uncertainty for creditors, legal representatives, and others involved in court proceedings.
The disruption affects the Bankruptcy Noticing Center (BNC), a service responsible for preparing and delivering notices on behalf of every federal bankruptcy court in the country. These notifications inform people about important developments in bankruptcy cases, including scheduled hearings, court orders, and meetings with creditors.
Problems began on October 9, 2026, when BAE Systems notified the Administrative Office of the US Courts about an interruption affecting the service. Several bankruptcy courts subsequently warned that both electronic and paper notices were unavailable.
On October 15, the Administrative Office confirmed that the outage resulted from a cybersecurity incident. The disruption also affected several websites used to manage bankruptcy notifications, along with the National Creditor Registration Service, which helps maintain creditor mailing information.
BAE Systems, one of Europe’s largest defense contractors, provides technology, cybersecurity, and infrastructure services to government organizations worldwide. The company confirmed that the incident was isolated to the Bankruptcy Noticing Center and said it was working with federal court administrators to restore operations.
Despite the interruption, the affected notification service is separate from the courts’ broader filing systems. The Eastern District of New York confirmed that its electronic case-filing notification emails continued functioning normally, while other courts said they would continue accepting documents and conducting scheduled proceedings.
Some courts have introduced temporary arrangements to reduce the impact. These include alternative procedures for obtaining creditor addresses and allowing parties to request deadline extensions or hearing postponements when the disruption prevents timely notification.
The cause of the cyberattack remains undisclosed. Authorities have not identified the attackers, explained how the systems were compromised, or confirmed whether any confidential information was accessed or stolen.