The Alaska Court System restored some online services Tuesday after a cyberattack forced the court system to disconnect many of its operations from the internet at the beginning of May, but it was unclear how long a full recovery may take.
The court system disconnected applications from the internet on May 1 after a cybersecurity alert on April 29 pointed to unusual activity, it said in a statement Tuesday. Someone outside the network placed malware on the system, including four servers and two computers, according to the court system.
𝗔𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘁 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 𝗕𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗥𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝘆𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝘁𝘁𝗮𝗰𝗸 Anchorage, Alaska, May 11, 2021 – The Alaska...
Posted by Alaska Court System on Tuesday, May 11, 2021
No data was believed to be extracted during the security breach, the court system said.
The cyberattack and resulting disconnection of online applications disrupted electronic court filings, online payments and video hearings. The Courtview site, used to look up records, and some features of the court system’s website remained offline Tuesday.
External email communications resumed Tuesday, which allows for electronic filings to begin again. The court system said it aims to restore online payment features by Monday.
The court system said that last Thursday, it began the next phase of its recovery, which involves ensuring that every computer and server is free of malware and that security measures are in place for the future. It wasn’t clear how long that will take or when all operations will be back online, according to the court system.
While the court system has been offline, filings have been accepted by fax or dropbox, and most video hearings have been conducted by phone. Jury questionnaires have been mailed to those summoned for July hearings. Courthouse phone lines have remained operational.
The court system is posting daily calendars online at alaskacourtcalendars.com for now, and all forms are still available on the court’s main website.