Kansas officials are calling a massive computer outage that’s kept most of the state’s courts offline for two weeks a “security incident.” While authorities have provided no explanation, experts sat the incident bears all the hallmarks of a ransomware attack.
This photo shows a computer terminal normally used by the public to access Kansas court records shut down, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, at the Shawnee County Courthouse in Topeka, Kan.. Most of the state’s courts have been offline since Oct. 12, 2023, in what officials are calling a “security incident” that experts say has all the hallmarks of a ransomware attack. This photo shows that a computer terminal normally used by the public to access Kansas court records has been shut down, Wednesday, Oct.
Since 2019, ransomware groups have targeted 18 state, city or municipal court systems, said analyst Allan Liska of the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. That includes one inKansas agency investigated girl’s family 5 times before she was killed, a report showsAlaska’s courtstop criminal and civil courts were hit with a ransomware attack in 2020 but the filing system remained operational and trial courts weren’t affected.came on Oct.
No ransomware group has come forward to claim credit for the prolonged outage, analysts said. But Liska said it is “highly unlikely” that this is anything but a ransomware attack.Notably spared was Johnson County in the Kansas City area, the state’s most populous county. It operates its own computer systems and had not yet switched over to the state’s new online court system.
“On the pro side, economies of scale mean more resources should be able to be committed to protecting and securing that system,” he said. “On the con side, when an attack does succeed ... it’s going to knock out the entire state system rather than simply an individual county or municipality.” With the system down, courts haven’t been able to accept electronic filings, process payments, manage cases, grant public access to records, allow people to file electronically for protection-from-abuse orders and to apply electronically for marriage licenses.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Social security works on Common Dreams's siteSocial Security Works' mission is to: Protect and improve the economic security of disadvantaged and at-risk populations; Safeguard the economic security of those dependent, now or in the future, on Social Security; and Maintain Social Security as a vehicle of social justice.
Read more »
Stafford road rage incident explodes into racist rant by a licensed security officerA profanity laced road rage incident was caught on camera in Stafford. The victim wants to see justice done to the security officer.
Read more »
Blame Global Conflicts on False Sense of Security, ComplacencyLulled into a false sense of security and complacency about the nature of the world, the West has become dangerously weak and overly indulgent of many things that never should have been tolerated in the first place.
Read more »
FBI, JSO, Homeland Security help Jacksonville community learn how to deal with hate crimesThe City of Jacksonville hosted the first of two informational sessions for faith leaders and their communities on Monday night.
Read more »
'90 Day: The Last Resort': Jovi and Big Ed's Altercation Has Security Stepping InSecurity quickly stepped in when Jovi lunged at Big Ed for bringing up his daughter.
Read more »
Small businesses in 'security zones' don't feel prepared for APEC conferenceEven though the City is encouraging businesses to stay open, some small business owners within the security zones said they do not feel prepared. Many of them said there has not been enough information to help them staff for the event.
Read more »