Cyberattack on Arizona court system may have exposed personal data, officials say

Arizona’s court system was hit by a cyberattack this week that officials say may have compromised personal information belonging to a large number of Arizonans.

Official response and confirmed impact

Officials believe criminal hackers, or automated “bots,” copied personally identifiable information belonging to many Arizonans.

“As soon as I learned about this outrageous criminal attack on Arizona’s Courts, I immediately called our team together to formulate a response,” Timmer said in a written release.

Incident under investigation

Court IT staff discovered the attack and moved quickly to shut it down, Arizona Supreme Court Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer announced Friday night.

The Supreme Court’s Administrative Office of the Courts is now working to notify everyone it believes was affected by the breach.

Officials did not share extensive details about the attack or what information was accessed, saying they want to avoid compromising the ongoing investigation or putting affected individuals at further risk.

“I personally spoke with the top-ranking FBI leader in the state, and I pledged our full commitment to supporting their investigation and minimizing the likelihood that the information will be used to further jeopardize Arizonans.”