This week, a ransomware attack caused major phone service outages for many courts in California. The main target of this assault was the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, the state’s biggest trial court.
The Superior Court of Los Angeles County hosts the phone infrastructure of the courts in Colusa, Inyo, San Luis Obispo, Shasta, and Stanislaus counties, which were affected by the ransomware attack. The courts have been deprived of their phone, fax, and text notification services. The Shasta County courthouse has been operating without its Voice over Internet Protocol system.
Shasta County jurors are advised to use the Internet for updates on their jury duty status, as the standard phone number for the data is currently unavailable.
Ransomware is among the most prevalent forms of malware. It can eavesdrop on consumers, disrupt operations, or capture data. The ransomware encases the target’s data or device and holds it hostage until the target pays the cyber assailant.
Cybercriminals have adopted the use of doxware or leakware to take sensitive information and threaten to share it if the targets fail to pay the ransom. Cybercriminals sometimes keep their files locked or disclose the data, regardless of whether targets pay the ransom.
According to officials, this attack is not associated with the recent defective CrowdStrike software update that caused global disruptions. Restoration of the telephone infrastructure is anticipated by the weekend.
This event serves as a clear warning of the growing danger posed by ransomware attacks on a global scale. Such assaults have significantly disrupted several industries in recent years.
In 2023, a British parliamentary committee expressed alarm about the possible interruption of vital national infrastructure, such as transportation, electricity, water supply, healthcare, and telecommunications. It warned that a catastrophic attack was highly likely due to the country’s lack of preparation and inadequate investment in cybersecurity.
In June, the cybercriminal organization known as LockBit was allegedly responsible for a hack in Indonesia that impacted over 40 government agencies and caused several days’ worth of disruptions to key airport operations.
