Arizona court system cyberattack potentially exposes over 1 million in debt program
A massive cyberattack on Arizona's court system exposed the personal information of over 1 million people. Hackers also accessed confidential foster care files.
Official response and confirmed impact
FOX 10's Jacob Luthi reports.
Incident under investigation
More than 1.3 million people may be affected by a data breach involving Arizona’s court system, with potentially sensitive personal information connected to a court debt collection program among the data that may have been compromised.
Court officials say the breach was discovered after a court employee clicked on a malicious link.
Court IT staff contained the breach within two hours, and the FBI was notified, according to Chief Justice Ann Timmer.
The data may include names, case numbers and Social Security numbers belonging to people referred to the state’s FARE program, which helps collect court-ordered debt.
The court is urging potentially affected individuals to place a hold or freeze on their credit files with the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.
Court officials say notifications about the cyberattack will be sent to individuals in the court’s FARE program by text message.
