New report describes numerous security breaches at the Supreme Court


Supreme Court justices have often used their personal email accounts in lieu of secure servers to transmit sensitive data about cases, according to a report from CNN published Saturday. This was just one of many breaches of security protocol at the court described by CNN.
According to the report, unnamed Supreme Court justices would send sensitive emails about ongoing cases on their personal accounts, despite the fact that the court had set up private servers for this purpose. The report claims many justices pushed back on using these secure servers "because some justices were slow to adopt to the technology and some court employees were nervous about confronting them to urge them to take precautions."
"This has been going on for years," one former employee told CNN.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Beyond issues with emails, CNN described numerous other lapses in security. This includes "burn bags" — pouches meant to hold sensitive documents that will eventually be destroyed — reportedly being left unattended in the hallway. This is in part because there is no uniform rule for handling burn bags, CNN reported, and "the justices each have their own protocols."
Another issue was the reported fact that employees with remote access could, in theory, use any printer they wanted to print sensitive documents. "Employees who had VPN access could print documents from any computer, making it difficult to track copies," CNN reported.
These alleged security lapses come as the court is under scrutiny over a leaked draft of the opinion overturning Roe v. Wade last year. The court investigated the leak and published a report on the findings this past January, but CNN noted that none of these security issues were documented in the report.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Justin Klawans has worked as a staff writer at The Week since 2022. He began his career covering local news before joining Newsweek as a breaking news reporter, where he wrote about politics, national and global affairs, business, crime, sports, film, television and other news. Justin has also freelanced for outlets including Collider and United Press International.
-
Musk vows DOGE pullback as Tesla profits plunge
Speed Read The Tesla SEO says he will soon step back from government matters to devote more time to the company
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
IMF sees slump from tariffs, Trump tries to calm markets
Speed Read The International Monetary Fund predicts the U.S. and global economies will slow significantly due to the president's trade war
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
DHS chief Kristi Noem's purse stolen from eatery
Speed Read Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's purse was stolen while she dined with family at a restaurant in Washington, D.C.
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Trump stands by Hegseth amid ouster reports
Speed Read The president dismissed reports that he was on the verge of firing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a second national security breach
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Hegseth reportedly shared war plans in 2nd group text
Speed Read The defense secretary sent information about an attack in Yemen to a Signal group chat that included his wife and brother
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Supreme Court takes up Trump birthright appeal
Speed Read The New Jersey Attorney General said a constitutional right like birthright citizenship 'cannot be turned on or off at the whims of a single man'
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Judge threatens Trump team with criminal contempt
Speed Read James Boasberg attempts to hold the White House accountable for disregarding court orders over El Salvador deportation flights
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
'You shouldn't need a private company to fill out paperwork for you'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US