- Kansas' court system needs at least $2.6 million in additional funding to recover from October's cyberattack.
- The cyberattack prevented electronic filing of documents and cut off online access to records for several weeks.
- State Supreme Court Chief Justice Mara Ruckert disclosed the funding amount in a written statement to lawmakers.
Kansas' court system needs at least $2.6 million in additional funding to recover from an October cyberattack that prevented electronic filing of documents and blocked online access to records for several weeks, the state says. top judicial officials told Congress on Tuesday.
State Supreme Court Chief Justice Mara Ruckert included the numbers in a written statement ahead of testimony before a joint session of the Kansas House and Senate Judiciary Committees. The Republican-controlled Legislature must approve the funding, as well as Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.
Ruckert's written statement said the court needed the money not only to bring several computer systems back online, but also to pay vendors, make cybersecurity improvements and hire three additional cybersecurity personnel. . He also said prices could rise.
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“This amount includes recovery costs that we will incur but cannot yet estimate, notification costs expended to notify individuals if their personally identifiable information has been compromised, and any additional costs that the branch may incur.” “Some costs, such as services such as credit monitoring, are not included in the decision to assist victims,” Ruckert said in a statement.
Kansas Supreme Court Chief Justice Marla Ruckert speaks to an audience gathered during a joint session of the Kansas House and Senate Judiciary Committees at the State Capitol in Topeka, Kansas, on January 16, 2024. Ruckert said the court system needs at least $2.60. He raised an additional $1 million in funding to help recover from the October 2023 cyberattack. (AP Photo/John Hannah)
The attack occurred on October 12th. Law enforcement authorities have accused a Russia-based ransomware group of stealing the data and threatening to post it on a dark website if its demands were not met.
Judicial authorities have not provided details about the attacker's demands. However, they confirmed earlier this month that the ransom had not been paid after responding to The Associated Press' request for invoices from October 12, indicating as much.
Ruckert said little about the cost of the cyberattack during Tuesday's joint committee meeting, and did not mention the $2.6 million figure. He and other law enforcement officials also met privately with House committees for about 15 minutes to discuss more sensitive security issues.
“The forensic investigation is ongoing,” she said in public testimony to both committees.
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Ruckert said the court's costs include purchasing a new firewall, as well as software and hardware. He said the court has included three new cybersecurity positions in its budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, but currently hopes to have them available for hire in April, May or June. He said he was thinking about it.
State Rep. Stephen Owens, a native of rural central Kansas who serves on both the House Judiciary and Appropriations committees, said the courts are demanding “tremendous amounts of money” because of the cyberattack.
“Having said that, I also think we need to prioritize cybersecurity,” he said after Tuesday's meeting. “We must prioritize protecting the information we store on behalf of Kansans.”
Separately, Kelly will staff a 12-person 24-hour cybersecurity operations center, hire staff to oversee the state's data protection strategy, and hire someone to help develop a statewide data privacy program. He is seeking $1.5 million.
