Kansas Judicial Branch says October data breach impacted all district and appellate courts

The Judicial branch of Kansas said the cyber attack it suffered in October impacted daily operations of the state’s appellate courts and district courts in 104 counties.

Last month, the Kansas Judicial Branch said that it suffered a “security incident that disrupted the information systems on which state courts operate.” The Kansas Supreme Court also issued an “Administrative Order 2023-CC-073”, declaring that the court clerk offices would remain inaccessible for electronic filings until October 15.

The Kansas Judicial Branch added that courts in Kansas will continue to accept paper filings and filings by fax. However, fax filings where payment is required could not be accepted. Also, courts could not accept electronic payments, whether by credit card, electronic check, or another electronic method, indicating that the cyber attack seriously affected the payment system of the Kansas Judicial Branch.

“The order applies to the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, and district courts in all counties except Johnson County. Johnson County currently operates on an efiling and case management system used only by that county,” the Judicial Branch added.

In a recent statement shared with the media, Chief Justice Marla Luckert and Justices Eric Rosen, Dan Biles, Caleb Stegall, Evelyn Wilson, K.J. Wall, and Melissa Standridge of the Kansas Supreme Court said that the judicial branch is in the process of recovering from the cyber attack that affected daily operations of the state’s appellate courts and district courts in 104 counties.

“When we discovered the attack, we quickly disconnected our information systems from external access. We notified state authorities, and since that time have benefited from the continued support provided by the governor’s office, legislative leadership, and state and federal law enforcement. This attack—on one of our three branches of government—was made against all Kansans,” the statement read.

The Kansas Judicial Branch added that the threat actors, who infiltrated its internal network, accessed and stole data and threatened to post it on a dark web site if their demands were not met.

“We are working with cybersecurity experts to identify the data quickly and securely so we can conduct a comprehensive review to determine the full scope of what personal information the cybercriminals may have stolen. Based on our preliminary review, it appears the stolen information includes Office of Judicial Administration files, district court case records on appeal, and other data, some of which may be confidential under law,” it said.

“A full review of what may have been stolen is a high priority to us but it will take time. Once this review is complete, we will notify those affected.”

The Judicial branch added that the recovery process, getting its systems back online and returning to normal operations is in process, however, it will take several weeks to restore normal operations, including electronic filings.