ATF Hit By Ransomware Attack, DOJ Says

The Department of Justice (DOJ) confirmed Wednesday that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has been hit with a ransomware attack.

A DOJ spokesperson confirmed the attack when reached by the Daily Caller News Foundation for comment about a social media post from Gun Owners of America regarding the situation, which raised concerns about the potential compromise of gun owners’ information. The Russian cybergang Qilin claimed responsibility for the attack on the ATF, CyberNews reported.

“BREAKING[:] Ransomware gang Qilin claims to have hacked ATF. It’s unclear what data, if any, was stolen,” GOA posted Wednesday. “But @ATFHQ maintains a registry of more than 1 BILLION guns and gun owners.”

ATF keeps at least 866 million digitalized records from federally licensed firearms dealers (FFLs), according to Reason Magazine. The digitalized records have been the subject of allegations from pro-Second Amendment organizations that the agency has created a “backdoor gun registry.”

“The NRA is deeply concerned about how data leaks can expose the privacy of gun owners,” a spokesperson for the National Rifle Association told the DCNF. “We are working with the administration to understand the scope and severity of the situation, and will keep our members updated as facts are confirmed.”

“If anything this reinforces why we feel it’s critical that the ATF compile as little information about gun owning Americans as possible,” Second Amendment Foundation Senior Director of Litigation William Sack said. “Not only should our government not have that information, but they’ve shown over and over again that it’s not even secure in their possession.”

The DOJ announced in a Wednesday release it had seized multiple online domains used by QTFY, a group of Chinese state-sponsored hackers who created “QScan” and “QTRouter,” malware programs that target U.S. critical infrastructure. DOJ accused the group of attacking several government agencies, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Federal Reserve, Department of Energy, DOJ, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Senate.

The claimed ransomware attack came one day after CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Russia on what was described in a Wall Street Journal report as a “surprise trip.”

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org