The Superior Court of Los Angeles County suffered a ransomware attack early Friday morning, prompting a swift shutdown of its internal systems. As reported by NBC Los Angeles, the court took the defensive measure to disable its network which will continue to be offline throughout the weekend for repairs and upgrades in response to the cybersecurity threat.
The attack coincided with a broader disturbance across the digital landscape, where a separate incident involving a CrowdStrike software update caused disruptions for various services worldwide on the preceding Thursday. Despite the timing, the court believes the two events to quickly be unrelated. According to a CBS News Los Angeles report, LA County's Superior Court had in recent years notably stepped up its cybersecurity game, an investment that may have mitigated the damage from the incident.
"Multiple agencies including the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services are now investigating the breach and looking to minimize any damage," the Court's system said in a statement obtained by NBC Los Angeles. Local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies are also pouring in resources, offering a collective effort to fortify the digital ramparts against further intrusion.
Despite the havoc that ransomware can wreak, the Court's preliminary reviews yield a note of cautious optimism - there is no evidence, as of yet, of court user data being compromised.
