Published on July 2nd, 2019 📆 | 7810 Views ⚑
0Ransomware attack hits Georgia courts agency
Hackers have infected computers at a Georgia courts agency, demanding a ransom payment and causing officials to shut down court websites.
The Administrative Office of the Courts was offline Monday as the state government tried to contain the hack. The agency maintains court documents, provides computer applications to some local courts and publishes guidance on court operations.
All georgiacourts.gov websites were inaccessible. Itâs unclear how many computers and court services were affected.
Personal information wasnât compromised because the agency doesnât keep that information, said Michelle Barclay, a division director for the Administrative Office of the Courts.
âEverything is shut down until they tell us to turn it on,â Barclay said. âWeâre definitely inconveniencing folks who rely on our applications.â
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The attack, which was discovered during the weekend, is suspected to have come from a foreign country, she said.
âThe big question is why? What are they looking for?â said Don Hunt, an electronic crime researcher at Georgia State University. âIt was probably a test. The courts system is probably set up like another system they want to target.â
Ransomware locks key files and databases until the victim pays money to restore access to their documents. The Administrative Office of the Courts received an email from the hackers with instructions to contact them, Barclay said. The email didnât specify a ransom amount, she said.
David Allen, Georgiaâs chief information security officer, said ransomware hackers are usually trying to extort money rather than steal government information.
âTheyâre just trying to get a paycheck. Thatâs ultimately their aim,â Allen said. âWeâve seen some cases where the money has been paid, so you know thatâs their primary motivator, to get the payday if they can get itâ
The hack follows several recent attacks on government networks, including the city of Atlanta and the Georgia Department of Agriculture.
Two Iranian citizens were charged in last yearâs cyberattack on the city of Atlantaâs computer network, which crippled city business for days. Atlanta officials said they didnât pay the $51,000 ransom demanded by the hackers. An internal report last year estimated the damage to the city could cost up to $17 million.
At the Georgia Department of Agriculture, technicians erased and reloaded the 60 computers that had been infected by malware. In that case, hackers sought about $48,000, which the state didnât pay. It cost $253,000 for remediation work, investigations and consultants.
County and state courts were operational, but they were unable to access information provided by the Administrative Office of the Courts, Allen said. He didnât know how long it will take to recover from the attack.
âTheyâre still working through the process of how deep some of the impacts go,â Allen said. âOverabundance of caution has brought everything offline.â
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