"Kansas Court System Down Nearly 2 Weeks in ‘Security Incident’ That Has Hallmarks of Ransomware"
Kansas officials are calling a massive computer outage that’s kept most of the state’s courts offline for two weeks a “security incident” and have not provided an explanation. Experts say it has all the hallmarks of a ransomware attack. The disruption has left attorneys unable to search online records and forced them to file motions the old-fashioned way on paper. Security researcher Allan Liska stated that, since 2019, ransomware groups have targeted 18 state, city, or municipal court systems. In Kansas, the first sign of trouble came on Oct. 12 when the state’s Judicial Branch announced a pause in electronic filings because of a “security incident.” The details released since have been sparse. No ransomware group has come forward to claim credit for the prolonged outage. But Liska said it is “highly unlikely” that this is anything but a ransomware attack.