Hackers access protective order information and foster care records in Arizona court breach

Hackers recently accessed sensitive personal information, including data related to protective orders, in a cyberattack on Arizona’s court system, according to the Arizona Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer said court IT staff discovered the attack and moved quickly to stop it, but some data had already been accessed.

“What they got was sensitive information dealing with various court matters, so the biggest cohort probably are protective orders,” Timmer told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Arizona’s Morning News on Tuesday. “Those are the things that, when you go to court, you get injunctions against harassment at your workplace or your home.”

The court announced the breach Friday. Its administrative office is working to notify people it believes were affected.

What can hackers do with sensitive court records?

The stolen data was compressed and would require additional processing to make it readable, Timmer said.

“The hackers did not put any malware in the system, but they were able to download or copy, if you will, some information, mostly from some backup files,” Timmer said. “So, whoever got this data might not be able to read it, and we hope they’re not able to, but if they’re sophisticated enough, they can figure out how to translate that into readable text.”

Timmer said she hoped hackers would find little useful information in the records, which include both outdated and current protective-order data. Hackers would first have to make the data readable and sift through records that include long-expired orders and information about people who have moved.

“I suppose you could use it to try to you sell it to anybody … interested in the locating information, and that’s what’s the most concerning,” Timmer said. “Not that it would happen, but frankly … the people that are the victims of these things now have to sit around and worry about that, and that’s the unfortunate thing.”

Authorities have not yet determined who was behind the attack. The FBI, Homeland Security and the Arizona Department of Public Safety are involved in the investigation.

Aside from those with protective orders, who else had their data compromised?

“Another cohort that we are have discovered and are releasing information about just last evening are foster care review board records,” Timmer said.

The confidential records contain recommendations to the court and are shared with parents and others involved in each case, she said.

“These don’t involve addresses and personal identifying information other than names of children, but that still is, obviously, very concerning that that type of information has has been copied,” Timmer said.

How did the Arizona Supreme Court data breach happen?

The incident appears to have started when a county employee clicked a suspicious link despite training warning against doing so.

“It was detected fairly quickly and shut down, but not until a lot of information was downloaded,” Timmer said. “So it seemed to be happenstance.”

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