Arizona court officials said in an updated FAQ this week that federal and state investigators confirmed criminal hackers "accessed and copied backup court files" in the cyberattack disclosed on 25 September (attack began 24 September until the IT team shut the system down). The criminals breached the statewide Fines/Fees and Restitution Enforcement (FARE) Program, taking 30 years of records — names, Social Security numbers and case numbers — on 1.3 million people; victims are being notified by text message and urged to place holds on their credit lines. The hackers also accessed more than 150,000 Foster Care Review Board reports dating back to 2010, containing details of children including 8,000 currently in foster care, plus records of active and inactive protective orders with some sensitive information. Investigators believe the intrusion began with a court employee clicking a malicious link in a phishing email. The court says the file format may impede the thieves' ability to read the stolen data. No group has claimed the attack; no ransom demands have been made and officials say it did not involve ransomware.

• Source article