The Los Angeles County Superior Court system will be closed on Monday as the tech services division works to repair and reboot network computer systems severely impacted by a ransomware attack, the court announced.
“On Friday, the Court experienced an unprecedented cyber-attack, necessitating the shutdown of nearly all network systems to contain the damage, protect information integrity and confidentiality, and ensure future network stability and security,” Presiding Judge Samantha P. Jessner stated late Sunday night.
“Although the Court is swiftly progressing towards restoration and recovery, many critical systems remain offline as of Sunday evening. An additional day will allow our team of experts to focus on bringing our systems back online, ensuring operations can resume as smoothly and safely as possible.”
Officials do not anticipate the court system being closed beyond Monday.
“Court staff have been working vigorously over the past 72 hours with outside consultants, vendors, other courts, and law enforcement to restore the Court’s network systems,” the Sunday statement said. “While significant progress has been made, some challenges are delaying full recovery.”
The affected systems span the Court’s entire operation, including external systems like the MyJuryDuty Portal and the Court’s website, as well as internal systems such as the Court’s case management systems.
Monday’s closure will affect all 36 courthouse locations in the county.
The hack, described as “a serious security event,” was first detected early Friday and identified as a ransomware attack. Following the detection, the Court’s Technology Services Division immediately shut down network computer systems to mitigate further harm.
However, the courts remained open for business on Friday.
In September 2022, the Los Angeles Unified School District was also the victim of a ransomware attack, later attributed to a Russia-based hacking group called the Vice Society. Some data was stolen and posted on the dark web, although Superintendent Alberto Carvalho stated there was no evidence the hackers accessed sensitive student or staff personal data.
The data, mostly involving some of LAUSD’s outside contractors, was posted ahead of an announced deadline for the district to pay an unspecified ransom, which the district had no intention of paying.
