Arizona Court System Breach Exposes Residents' Personal Data

The Arizona Supreme Court has confirmed that criminal hackers, or automated bots acting on their behalf, breached the state's court system and copied personal information belonging to a large number of residents. Chief Justice Ann Scott Timmer said the court's Administrative Office of the Courts is working to notify everyone whose data may have been taken.

A court spokesperson said the incident was not a ransomware attack and no ransom demand has been made as of this week. Officials have not released technical details about how the breach occurred, citing an ongoing investigation being supported by the FBI. No hacking group has claimed responsibility.

Court systems have become frequent targets for cybercriminals because they hold large volumes of sensitive personal and law enforcement data. In recent years, ransomware, denial-of-service attacks and data breaches have hit court systems in states including Kansas, Pennsylvania, Georgia, California and several others, sometimes disrupting operations for weeks or months.