Ransomware attack keeps LA Superior Courts shuttered

LOS ANGELES (CN) — All 36 Los Angeles County Superior Court locations remain closed Monday following a ransomware attack last week that disabled computer and network systems.

“The court experienced an unprecedented cyberattack 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,” said Presiding Judge Samantha Jessner in a written statement. “While the court continues to move swiftly toward a restoration and recovery phase, many critical systems remain offline.”

Officials say they expect to have operations up and running by Tuesday. A spokesperson for LA Superior Courts declined to say if they had any information about who the attackers were, or if the court system had paid the ransom demands.

The ransomware attack came Friday, the same day a faulty software update from the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike plunged businesses across the globe into chaos, grounding flights and shutting down computers. The timing of the two events appears to be a coincidence.

A number of California cities have been hit with ransomware attacks in the last two years, including Oakland, El Cerrito, Modesto and Hayward. San Francisco’s Bay Area Rapid Transit System and the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department were also hit with ransomware attacks in 2023.

Ransomware is a type of malware that infects a device, computer or network and encrypts all files so the owner can’t access them. A criminal group will demand payment in exchange for decryption. Cybersecurity expert Darrin Johnson said most ransomware attackers are based in China, North Korea and Russia, which either sanction or tolerate such attacks as long as the targets are abroad.

“It’s not kids in a basement,” Johnson said. “These are hundreds of millions and billions of dollars in payments that are leaving America going to other countries.”

Many corporations have found it easier, not to mention less embarrassing, to pay the ransom on cyberattacks.

“This is our fault,” said Johnson." “Once we started paying the bad guys, we gave them a financial incentive. Five years ago, ransom was probably $100,000 to $250,000. Now you’re lucky if they don’t start out with $1 to 5 million.”

According to LA Superior Court officials, following Friday’s attack “every electronic platform containing court data was rendered inaccessible as was any device that was connected to the internet, including the court’s telephone systems.”

The court closures mean that trials will be delayed and that arrestees will have to wait one more day to see a magistrate judge to determine bail. Restraining orders set to expire on Monday will last one more day.

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