Breaches and incidents
Arizona Judicial Branch: phishing leads to copy of court backup files, 1.3 million people’s SSNs exposed
Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer announced on Friday 25 Sep that hackers are believed to have “gained possession of personal identifying information” of...
- Disclosed
- Verification
- Confirmed by two or more outlets
What happened
- Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer announced on Friday 25 Sep that hackers are believed to have “gained possession of personal identifying information” of “many Arizonans” (KJZZ). Per The Record (7 Oct), hackers “accessed and copied backup court files” including “names, social security numbers and case numbers of 1.3 million people” in the FARE fines programme, records going back 30 years, Foster Care Review Board reports and protective-order records.
- Root cause per investigators (The Record): phishing, after “a court employee clicked a malicious link in an email”; the attack “began on September 24” and ran until IT shut the system off. A court spokesperson said it was not ransomware.
- No attacker named: “No hacking group has taken credit for the attack” (The Record).
- The FBI is investigating; the court notified the Department of Child Safety, attorneys, judges and Foster Care Review Board members, and FARE victims will get text messages.