Court systems across Washington state have been offline since Sunday following the detection of “unauthorized activity” on judicial networks.
This outage has impacted all state courts’ information systems, websites, and associated services, with restoration efforts underway.
The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) responded promptly to secure critical systems, taking them offline as a precaution. “We proactively took down our systems to secure them and are working around the clock with leading experts to restore services as quickly as possible,” said Wendy Ferrell, associate director at the AOC.
While some courts, like those in Bainbridge Island, Monroe, and Puyallup, are operating with limited services, the Pierce County Superior Court Clerk’s Office has maintained online access due to limited impact on its systems. Essential court functions are expected to proceed with minimal disruptions, but some electronic record searches and balance information remain temporarily unavailable.
This incident echoes a similar cyberattack on the Kansas Courts Authority last year, which led to a statewide system outage and exposed sensitive data. While no ransomware group has claimed responsibility for the Washington incident, officials continue working to secure court systems and restore full service.
