In an unforeseen digital disaster, the Los Angeles Superior Court, the nation’s most extensive unified trial court, found itself paralyzed on Monday. This followed the revelation of a ransomware attack that had ensnared its systems late last week.
On Sunday, the court declared a complete shutdown of all 36 courthouse locations across the county, with both court personnel and cybersecurity experts racing against the clock to mend the “severely impacted” network systems. The breach, discovered on Friday, left parts of the court’s website offline well into Monday afternoon.
The perpetrators behind this digital siege remain unidentified, and a court spokesperson maintained a tight-lipped stance, simply reiterating a prior statement that operations are anticipated to resume by Tuesday.
Among the crippled systems are the court’s jury duty portal and internal case management networks, which are crucial for the court’s daily operations. Notably, the court assured that this attack appears unrelated to the Crowdstrike issue, which recently caused widespread technical disruptions across multiple sectors globally. A preliminary probe indicated no evidence of compromised user data.
In an effort to contain the damage, the court deactivated its systems over the weekend. The ransomware attack rendered every electronic platform with court data inaccessible, alongside any internet-connected device, including the court’s telephone systems, as detailed in a Sunday order by Presiding Judge Samantha Jessner.
For those seeking the latest updates in legal affairs, consider subscribing to The Daily Docket newsletter for a morning briefing directly to your inbox.
