Arizona Courts Say Hackers Stole Data on More Than 1.3 Million People
Summary
Hackers accessed and copied Arizona court backup files, exposing information on more than 1.3 million people and compromising foster care and protective order records. Investigators believe a phishing link started the intrusion.
Key points
- Hackers accessed and copied backup files from Arizona’s court system before the IT team shut down the system.
- The breach exposed names, Social Security numbers, and case numbers tied to 1.3 million people in records dating back 30 years.
- Attackers accessed Fines/Fees and Restitution Enforcement Program records related to traffic and criminal debts.
- More than 150,000 foster care reports were compromised, including records concerning 8,000 children currently in foster care.
- The attackers also copied records involving active and inactive protective orders.
- Investigators believe the intrusion began when a court employee clicked a malicious link in a phishing email.
- Officials said the incident did not involve ransomware, and no group had claimed responsibility or demanded a ransom at the time of reporting.
Article Details
- Victim Organization
- Arizona’s court system
- Incident Type
- Cyberattack and data breach involving unauthorized access to and copying of backup court files, reportedly initiated by a phishing email.
- Data Types Exposed
- Names
- Social Security numbers
- Case numbers
- FARE Program records related to traffic and criminal debt cases
- Foster care reports containing information about children, family statements, investigative findings, and administrative notes
- Records involving active and inactive protective orders, including sensitive information
- Affected Records
- Data related to more than 1.3 million people; more than 150,000 foster care reports; protective order records. The number of protective order records was not specified.
- Operational Impact
- The court’s IT team shut off the system entirely. The court system coordinated a recovery effort; the source does not specify the duration of the shutdown.
- Ransom Or Extortion
- A court spokesperson said the incident did not involve ransomware and that no ransom demands had been issued for the stolen data as of Monday.
- Claim Status
- confirmed