ATF declares ‘major incident’ as ransomware gang claims hack

In Brief Posted: 10:54 AM PDT · August 27, 2026 Image Credits:arah Reingewirtz / MediaNews Group / Getty Images The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, or ATF, says a cyberattack on one of its systems has been declared a “major incident,” a formal, legally defined classification that prompts a formal notification to lawmakers in Congress.

ATF said in a statement that it’s responding to the cyberattack on a stand-alone system that’s separate from the bureau’s network. An ATF spokesperson told reporters that the targeted computer system contained information such as the “targets of ATF investigations.” TechCrunch has seen a claim of responsibility by the Qilin ransomware gang on its leak site, but it did not provide evidence for its claim, such as a sample of leaked data. Qilin is known for running a “ransomware-as-a-service” operation, in which it leases its hacking tools to other criminal affiliates for a cut of the profits.

(Original synthesis pending human/AI review — generated by the stub provider by selecting real sentences from the source material, not by writing new analysis or commentary.)