Federal courts exploring breach and attack simulation for cyber threats

The federal court system is looking for more information about products used to test security against breaches and attacks amid increasing cyber threats.

The Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts (AO), the arm of the federal courts that deals with non-judicial business, wants information about a product that regularly simulates threats to test cybersecurity, known as a “Breach and Attack Simulation,” according to a request for information posted online.

The AO is looking for a product that “will enable continuous and consistent testing of multiple attack vectors against the Courts’ assets, including external and insider threats, lateral movement, and data exfiltration,” the solicitation said.

The courts’ Information Technology Security Office would use a Breach and Attack Simulation product to “identify the levels of risk that may not be readily apparent,” the solicitation said. 

The judiciary, like other federal entities, has been the subject of cyberattacks in recent years, and those attempts are expected to become more acute. 

In its fiscal year 2024 budget request, the judiciary disclosed its cyber-defenses halted “approximately 600 million harmful events from reaching court local area networks in 2022.” It previously reported those defenses stopped 43 million “harmful events” in 2020. 

The judiciary, in the most recent budget request, said it expected cyberattacks to “continue to intensify as hackers become increasingly proficient.”

The Administrative Office didn’t immediately have more details on the solicitation.