Online services for the Los Angeles County Superior Court system remained under fire Tuesday evening, with court officials offering little information about the nature of the cyber-attack, the extent of the damage or an accurate timeline for when services might return.
All 36 locations were closed Monday after a cyber-attack appears to have disabled court officials’ ability to access their computers.
Employees working inside the Santa Clarita Courthouse said Friday that they weren’t able to access any of their digital devices due to what was later described as a malware attack, which also came at the same time as Microsoft experienced an unprecedented global outage.
Court officials quickly concluded they were having separate issues Friday, identifying their concern as a cyberattack.
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Staton officials referred all requests for comment on the investigation to the Sheriff’s Information Bureau, which did not respond to any questions as of this story’s publication.
Among the questions: whether sensitive information was compromised by the attack; if a ransom has been issued; if any suspects have been identified or arrested.
The impacts to services remained Tuesday and were expected to continue Wednesday, based on the limited information being provided by court officials.
A notice posted online Tuesday noted the following:
“Due to ongoing connectivity issues resulting from last week’s ransomware attack, remote appearances will not be available today in civil, family law, probate and traffic cases. Parties with cases on calendar today in civil, family law, probate and traffic departments are instructed to appear in person if possible. Matters in which parties do not appear in person will be continued and parties will be notified of a continuance date by the court.”
“Litigants or their counsel with proceedings that did not take place on Friday, July 19, or Monday, July 22, will receive notice of a continuance date in the future from the court,” according to an online notice posted Tuesday.
A court decree from Presiding Judge Samantha Jessner also extended all deadlines by one day due to the unanticipated closure.
The court’s call centers are expected to be available again during normal business hours on Wednesday. A list of call centers and their associated numbers are available here: bit.ly/3WhxbRN.
