Alleged ransomware attack disrupts Kansas courts

Kansas had its court systems impacted by outages last week, which Judge Philip Journey of Sedgwick County attributed to a ransomware attack although no further details regarding the intrusion have been provided, according to The Record, a news site by cybersecurity firm Recorded Future. Several issues affecting the state's e-filing system, protection order portal, appellate case system, attorney state registry, district court public access portal, case management system, and online marriage license application system were initially discovered on Oct. 12, said the Supreme Court, which has been continuing operations with the temporary use of paper records. "We continue to serve our communities, but we are using different methods until our systems are restored," said Chief Justice Marla Luckert, who added that an investigation into the incident is already underway. Such an attack comes after the Regional Justice Information System leveraged by Kansas, Illinois, and Missouri counties was reported to be taken down by a cyberattack last month.