Critical Systems Remain Offline as Recovery Continues
The Los Angeles County Superior Court was targeted in a ransomware attack early last week, forcing the closure of all 36 courthouse locations across the county on Monday to recover from the cyber incident.
In a statement, Presiding Judge Samantha P. Jessner announced that the court experienced an “unprecedented cyber-attack” on July 19th, resulting in the shutdown of nearly all network systems to contain the damage, protect confidential information, and ensure future security.
Several critical systems remained offline as of Sunday evening, including the court’s entire case management systems and external websites like the jury duty portal. Visits to the court’s website showed an error message reading “The page you are looking for cannot be displayed due to a website error.”
Judge Jessner said one additional day of closure would allow the court’s team of experts, working with outside consultants, vendors, other courts and law enforcement, to focus exclusively on restoring systems so operations could resume as smoothly and safely as possible following the Los Angeles County ransomware attack.
Over the last 72 hours, significant progress had been made in recovery efforts but some challenges remained, delaying progress longer than initially expected. The judge recognized the impact the closure would have but stressed it was essential for judicial officers and staff to have secure and functional systems to carry out the court’s mission.
As of now, officials do not believe the closure will extend past Monday as recovery from the Los Angeles County ransomware attack continues. It remains unclear how the attackers gained access to the court’s systems or what specific impacts the incident had on operations and stored data. The investigation is ongoing.
This cyberattack highlights the rising threat posed by ransomware, with even critical government systems like the court falling victim.
The rapid response initiated containment and minimized damages, but full recovery may still take time. This incident serves as an important reminder of the vulnerabilities that exist and the level of diligence required to prevent and recover from similar ransomware attacks in the future.
