Alaska Courts Restore Email, Lack Answers on Cyber Attack

The Alaska court system said Tuesday it had restored email capabilities nearly two weeks after a cybersecurity attack.

The court system, in a statement, said it doesn’t know who was behind the attack, why the court system was targeted or how long it will be before services are fully back online. It says it does not believe personal or confidential data was taken from the courts’ computer systems and says no credit card information was accessed.

Joel Bolger, the chief justice of the Alaska Supreme Court, last week told The Associated Press that the court system did not receive a ransom demand or any direct message from those involved in the cybersecurity attack.

Someone outside the network on April 29 placed malware on the system, prompting the courts to disconnect online services on May 1, the statement said. The court system on Thursday began what it calls the “remediation phase of the recovery process,” which includes making sure there is no malware and that “sufficient security measures are in place moving forward,” it says.

Email service was restored Tuesday, which will allow for filing by email and distribution of notices or orders by electronic means, the statement says.

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