Ransomware Attack Shutters LA County Courts

LOS ANGELES, CA — The Los Angeles County Superior Court system was shut down Monday as officials work to recover from a cyber attack that impacted all of its computer systems.

The closure, which affects all 36 courthouses in the county, comes after the court experienced a ransomware attack on Friday, "which has resulted in the need to shut down nearly all network systems in order to contain the damage, protect the integrity and confidentiality of information and ensure future network stability and security," Presiding Judge Samantha P. Jessner said in a statement.

The attack is believed to be unrelated to the CrowdStrike issue that wreaked havoc on computer systems worldwide on Friday, which experts called the "largest IT outage in history."

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that prevents institutions from accessing their files, systems or networks, and demands the institution pay a ransom for access to be restored, according to the FBI.

"Ransomware attacks can cause costly disruptions to operations and the loss of critical information and data," according to the FBI.

The hack, first identified on Friday, did not lead to the closure of the courts on that day. Officials shut down the court's computer systems "to mitigate further harm," and while they've made progress in restoring operations, Monday's closure allows for officials to focus "exclusively on bringing our systems back online so that the court can resume operations as expeditiously, smoothly and safely as possible."

Officials said they don't expect the court system to be closed beyond Monday.

"Court staff have been working vigorously over the past 72 hours in partnership with outside consultants, vendors, other courts and law enforcement to get the court's network systems back online," the court statement, released Sunday said. "While the team of experts has made significant progress, there remain some challenges that are delaying progress."

The attack impacted the "court's entire operation, from external systems such as the MyJuryDuty Portal and the court's website to internal systems such as the court's case management systems," the court said.

The county Public Defender's Office said it's in communication with court officials.

"We are actively monitoring the impact of the attack on court schedules and will take all necessary legal steps to protect our clients' constitutional and statutory rights," the statement reads.

The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services, as well as local, state and federal law-enforcement agencies, are investigating the attack, the court said.

The court's credited its heavy investment in cybersecurity and increased staffing in the cybersecurity division in helping officials to quickly detect the intrusion and address it immediately.

The attack comes about two years after the Los Angeles Unified School District was the victim of a ransomware attack determined to be committed by the Vice Society, a Russia-based hacking syndicate.

Some data was stolen during that attack and posted on the dark web, but officials said at the time there was no evidence hackers accessed sensitive student or staff data.