The task force led by Australia is the latest step in a global effort that began in Washington to fight cyberattacks.

The suspect's group accumulated at least 50 million unique credentials from "millions of potential victims" worldwide, the DOJ said.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General for National Security Adam Hickey discussed the breach and the need to balance transparency with privacy related to sensitive material.

The former employee allegedly told an undercover FBI agent he was willing to sell classified documents for a $85,000 due to significant debt.

A rise in federal agency breaches involving personal data highlights the ongoing challenge the U.S. government faces in protecting privacy.

Sen. Ron Wyden said the courts administrators' lack of answers about the breach "is a major red flag about the state of the courts’ systems."

Public records and reporting has revealed that federal agencies have spent millions of dollars on contracts with massive data brokers.

A top DOJ official said potential vulnerabilities in the online case management system means that "going online is not always the best thing."

The Justice Department said it believes the antitrust legislation will address the threat posed by the "rise of dominant platforms."

The breach is separate from the SolarWinds fallout and had not been previously publicly disclosed.