STATE COURT WEBSITE FIGHTING RANSOM WARE
State officials announced today, that Texas courts shut down websites and disabled servers late last week in response to a ransomware attack.
The Office of Court Administration says, system administrators discovered early Friday that hackers had taken over at least a portion of the statewide court network and demanded ransom in return for restoring control.
The administration runs the information technology services for Texas appellate courts and state judicial agencies, including the Texas courts website.
The court system is working with state law enforcement to investigate the breach and vowed not to pay any ransom.
Officials say this ransomware attack is not related to the effort to increase the number of remote hearings, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The state created a temporary website that includes information about the attack and coronavirus guidance for courts.