PENNSYLVANIA, USA — Update, 3 p.m. (Feb. 6): Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Debra Todd provided the following update on the Pennsylvania Courts’ website denial of service cyber attack.
"As of 3 pm, e-services and e-commerce portions of the Pennsylvania Courts website including PACFile, GTS, web dockets and court summaries, and PAePay remain operational and accessible to the public. Work continues to bring court information and education web pages back online including our news and statistics and the civics education toolkit.
“We remain in a virtual battle with an unknown opponent who continues to target our online platform through what federal law enforcement has deemed a significant and serious denial of service attack," Todd said. "Rest assured that our information technology and executive team along with the guidance and support of the FBI and Department of Homeland Security are well equipped to meet these challenges head-on while developing a strategic plan to permanently restore all of our systems in a safe and effective manner."
“There is still no indication that any court data has been compromised, and we appreciate the continued patience and cooperation of the public, media and legal professionals as we work to bring the entire system permanently back online," she continued. "We reiterate that, amid this event, the courts have remained open and accessible.”
More information will be provided as it becomes available.
Previously
On Sunday, Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Debra Todd announced that portions of the Pennsylvania Courts' website are currently unavailable due to a denial of service cyber attack.
According to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a denial of service cyber attack occurs when malicious actors flood the targeted host or network with traffic until the target cannot respond or simply crashes, preventing access for legitimate users.
"Our court information technology and executive team are working closely with law enforcement, including the CISA, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the F.B.I to investigate the incident," Chief Justice of Pa. Debra Todd stated in a press release. "At this time, there is no indication that any court data was compromised, and our courts will remain open and accessible to the public."
The cyber attack, which was identified today, is currently affecting court web services including PACFile, the use of online docket sheets, PAePay and the Guardianship Tracking System.
Officials for the Pa. Courts state that more information will be provided as it becomes available.