PA court systems targeted through cyber-attack, affecting some services

Garret Roberts, Beaver County Times

HARRISBURG ― Several outages are occurring in Pennsylvania's digital court systems after being targeted by a denial of service (DOS) cyber attack.

The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts confirmed Monday afternoon it was targeted by a cyber attack following noted outages being observed throughout public services during the morning. At this time, there is no evidence any sensitive data has been stolen and court offices remain open to the public.

The home page for the UJS Portal, which allows public access to court records, following the cyber attack on February 5, 2024.
The home page for the UJS Portal, which allows public access to court records, following the cyber attack on February 5, 2024.

“Our court information technology and executive team continues to work closely with law enforcement including the CISA, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the F.B.I to investigate the incident,” said Chief Justice of Pennsylvania Debra Todd. “There is still no indication that any court data has been compromised, and our courts remain open and accessible to the public.”

According to a release from the courts on Monday, these are the statuses for affected services:

Public Applications

  • PACFile – the Pennsylvania Appellate Court (PAC) electronic filing system is used by attorneys and pro se litigants to electronically file documents with the appellate courts and some courts of common pleas (criminal and/or juvenile divisions). While PACFile is not available, filing offices remain open to accept filings in person or by mail.

  • GTS – the Guardianship Tracking System (GTS) is a web-based application used by court-appointed guardians, orphans’ court clerks, court staff and judges to file, manage, track and submit reports related to the guardianships of incapacitated persons. While the GTS system is not available, filing offices remain open to accept filings in person or by mail.

  • Web Dockets/court summaries – These documents are available online for free to anyone with internet access to view information about a case filed in the appellate courts, the criminal division of the courts of common pleas, as well as the magisterial district courts. While these documents are currently unavailable online, filing offices remain open to accept filings in person or by mail.

  • PAePay – facilitates the online payments for: cases with outstanding fines, costs, and restitution in criminal and summary matters, bail, fees associated with the annual attorney registration and bar application, probation, and parole fees, and Guardianship Tracking System (GTS) fees. While the PAePay system is not available, payments can still be made by mail, in-person or by contacting the court office to inquire about alternative payment methods.

  • Several pages on the UJS website, which allows public access to court records, were targeted and users are unable to access the system at this time.

Court or Law Enforcement Applications

  • JNET – Warrant information remains available to law enforcement through NCIC and CLEAN.

  • Police Forms (complaint and search warrants) and Citations – Law enforcement forms such as criminal complaint and search warrant applications, remain available at the appropriate court filing office.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: PA court systems targeted through cyber-attack, affecting some services

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