Post-Ida cyber attack hits Jefferson Parish courts; closures to last until at least Sept. 20 | Courts | nola.com
Post-Ida cyber attack hits Jefferson Parish courts; closures to last until at least Sept. 20
Clerk of court touts significant progress in restoring affected systems, expects they 'will be completely operational shortly'
BY RAMON ANTONIO VARGAS | STAFF WRITER PUBLISHED SEP 13, 2021 AT 12:15 PM | UPDATED SEP 14, 2021 AT 5:23 PM Comments
2 min to read
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Jefferson Parish courthouse stock pic.jpg
The entrance to the 24th Judicial District Court, located in the Thomas F. Donelon Building at the Jefferson Parish Government Center in Gretna.
Paul Purpura, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
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Ramon Antonio Vargas
Ramon Antonio Vargas
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Some of Jefferson Parish’s key courthouses will remain closed through the week after a cyber attack shut down the courts’ computer systems in the wake of Hurricane Ida, according to authorities.
The attack occurred after Ida knocked out power and internet to most of Jefferson Parish, leaving the courthouses’ computer network vulnerable following the storm’s Aug. 29 landfall, Clerk of Court Jon Gegenheimer said in a statement Monday.
The statement doesn’t elaborate on the exact nature of the attack or who was responsible, but Gegenheimer said it involved malware, which is software that is furtively installed on computers or networks to damage or take control of them.
The attack crippled the online database used by the 24th Judicial District Court, the 1st Parish Court and the 2nd Parish Court to manage their caseloads, a system colloquially referred to as “Jeffnet.”
Monday the last day for four major Jefferson Parish distribution sites; here's what's available
Monday the last day for four major Jefferson Parish distribution sites; here's what's available
The three courthouses — two situated in Gretna and one in Metairie — together handle everything from traffic summons for speeding to lawsuits and criminal trials for murder and other major crimes.
The buildings were ordered closed in the days before Ida barreled onto Louisiana’s coast as a powerful Category 4 storm with winds of 150 mph, killing more than 25 people in the state and causing widespread damage to homes and other buildings.
Now, as a result of the cyber attack, the 24th Judicial District and 1st Parish courts won’t resume business until at least Sept. 20. The 2nd Parish Court opened on Monday for the purpose of resetting some hearings, officials said.
Jeffnet was offline in the early aftermath of Ida, and it remained inaccessible Monday, though Gegenheimer’s statement said his office had made “significant progress” in restoring the database and the courthouses’ other digital operations.
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Gegenheimer added that his office had engaged with both law enforcement as well as a forensic cybersecurity firm for help in identifying “the malware offenders.”
“Our investigatory and restorative efforts are in their early stages, but we have made considerable progress,” the statement continued. “We fully expect that those (affected) systems will be completely operational shortly.”
Gegenheimer didn't say how the malware managed to infect computers or how it had been discovered. Often, though not always, targeted organizations’ employees leave the door open for such attacks, in some cases by providing their credentials after clicking on a link in an email disguised as coming from someone they know.
People scheduled to appear in 24th Judicial District Court during the closures are asked to contact the sections where their cases are being heard between Sept. 20 and Oct. 1 to receive new court dates. Officials will provide additional notice “if the conditions indicate that the court needs to adjust closing dates and times,” according to the courthouse’s website.
Another Jefferson Parish courthouse that reopened Monday was juvenile court, which is not connected to Jeffnet.
Jeffnet’s plight called to mind the late 2019 cyber attack that targeted the New Orleans city government. Part of a wave of cyberattacks against municipal systems across the country, the attack hobbled the city’s computer systems for months afterward and required the full replacement of hundreds of computers as well as upgrades to servers and software.
Even though city officials said they lost little data in the attack, the recovery efforts and upgrades cost millions of dollars.
Clerk of court touts significant progress in restoring affected systems, expects they 'will be completely operational shortly'
BY RAMON ANTONIO VARGAS | STAFF WRITER PUBLISHED SEP 13, 2021 AT 12:15 PM | UPDATED SEP 14, 2021 AT 5:23 PM Comments
2 min to read
Jefferson Parish courthouse stock pic.jpg
The entrance to the 24th Judicial District Court, located in the Thomas F. Donelon Building at the Jefferson Parish Government Center in Gretna.
Paul Purpura, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
Ramon Antonio Vargas
Ramon Antonio Vargas
Author email
Some of Jefferson Parish’s key courthouses will remain closed through the week after a cyber attack shut down the courts’ computer systems in the wake of Hurricane Ida, according to authorities.
The attack occurred after Ida knocked out power and internet to most of Jefferson Parish, leaving the courthouses’ computer network vulnerable following the storm’s Aug. 29 landfall, Clerk of Court Jon Gegenheimer said in a statement Monday.
The statement doesn’t elaborate on the exact nature of the attack or who was responsible, but Gegenheimer said it involved malware, which is software that is furtively installed on computers or networks to damage or take control of them.
The attack crippled the online database used by the 24th Judicial District Court, the 1st Parish Court and the 2nd Parish Court to manage their caseloads, a system colloquially referred to as “Jeffnet.”
Monday the last day for four major Jefferson Parish distribution sites; here's what's available
Monday the last day for four major Jefferson Parish distribution sites; here's what's available
The three courthouses — two situated in Gretna and one in Metairie — together handle everything from traffic summons for speeding to lawsuits and criminal trials for murder and other major crimes.
The buildings were ordered closed in the days before Ida barreled onto Louisiana’s coast as a powerful Category 4 storm with winds of 150 mph, killing more than 25 people in the state and causing widespread damage to homes and other buildings.
Now, as a result of the cyber attack, the 24th Judicial District and 1st Parish courts won’t resume business until at least Sept. 20. The 2nd Parish Court opened on Monday for the purpose of resetting some hearings, officials said.
Jeffnet was offline in the early aftermath of Ida, and it remained inaccessible Monday, though Gegenheimer’s statement said his office had made “significant progress” in restoring the database and the courthouses’ other digital operations.
Top stories in New Orleans in your inbox
Twice daily we'll send you the day's biggest headlines. Sign up today.
Enter your e-mail address.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Gegenheimer added that his office had engaged with both law enforcement as well as a forensic cybersecurity firm for help in identifying “the malware offenders.”
“Our investigatory and restorative efforts are in their early stages, but we have made considerable progress,” the statement continued. “We fully expect that those (affected) systems will be completely operational shortly.”
Gegenheimer didn't say how the malware managed to infect computers or how it had been discovered. Often, though not always, targeted organizations’ employees leave the door open for such attacks, in some cases by providing their credentials after clicking on a link in an email disguised as coming from someone they know.
People scheduled to appear in 24th Judicial District Court during the closures are asked to contact the sections where their cases are being heard between Sept. 20 and Oct. 1 to receive new court dates. Officials will provide additional notice “if the conditions indicate that the court needs to adjust closing dates and times,” according to the courthouse’s website.
Another Jefferson Parish courthouse that reopened Monday was juvenile court, which is not connected to Jeffnet.
Jeffnet’s plight called to mind the late 2019 cyber attack that targeted the New Orleans city government. Part of a wave of cyberattacks against municipal systems across the country, the attack hobbled the city’s computer systems for months afterward and required the full replacement of hundreds of computers as well as upgrades to servers and software.
Even though city officials said they lost little data in the attack, the recovery efforts and upgrades cost millions of dollars.
