The Kansas Supreme Court has held that reinstating a October ransomware attack will take much longer, warning that hackers are threatening to release the data they stole on the dark web if demands are not met.
In a statement released this week, Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla Luckert and several other justices confirmed that the “foreign” cyberattack announced more than a month ago was still crippling the state’s information systems. Kansas Office of Judicial Administration.
The incident severely limited the daily operations of appeals and district courts in 104 counties.
“When we discovered the attack, we quickly disconnected our information systems from external access. We notified state officials, and since then we have benefited from the continued support provided by the governor’s office, legislative leaders, and state and federal law enforcement. This attack – on one of our three branches of government – was launched against all Kansans,” they said. said.
“Although the impact on our information systems is temporary, cybercriminals have also stolen data and threatened to publish it on a dark web site if their demands are not met. We work with cybersecurity experts to identify data quickly and securely so we can conduct a comprehensive review to determine the full extent of personal information that cybercriminals may have stolen.
The judges said the stolen information includes Office of Court Administration records, district court appellate records and other data, “some of which may be confidential under the law.” Examining what was stolen will take more time, they said, adding that those affected will be informed.
It will be several weeks before normal operations, including electronic filing, are restored. Judges said their IT team is currently working to improve security systems to protect against future attacks.
On October 15, the state capital, Topeka, announced that its municipal court and probation and prosecution divisions would be closed to the public, while the Kansas Supreme Court declared that it was using paper records exclusively for function.
Judge Philip Journey, of Sedgwick County, Kansas, told local media KAKE that the outages were due to a ransomware attack.
The Supreme Court said at the time that the attack affected the electronic filing system; a portal for protection orders; the public access portal of the district court; the appeal system; the State Registry of Attorneys and the Kansas Online Marriage License Application System.
Kansas eCourt’s case management system, as well as the court’s payment portal, were also taken down by the attack.
All these systems are always down to November 22.
The devastating attack on the Kansas justice system mirrored incidents confronted by several others in the States across the United Statesmany of whom have had similar battles against ransomware gangs Last year.
No ransomware gang has taken credit for the attack, but Tuesday’s statement from the Kansas Supreme Court noted that FBI statistics show that cybercriminals are increasingly making a point of s take on local governments.
“Cybercrime poses a serious and persistent threat to our democratic institutions,” they said.
“This attack on the Kansas justice system is perverse and criminal. Today, we express our deep sadness that Kansans are suffering at the hands of these cybercriminals.
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