Kansas Courts open public access center in Topeka after online services fallout
9 November 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – A new rule has been adopted in response to a security incident from Oct. 12 that crippled the Kansas Court’s eFiling Systems.
On Thursday, Chief Justice Marla Luckert signed Administrative Order 2023-RL-077 which allows attorneys to serve other licensed attorneys through email without written consent. For self-represented litigants, all parties must consent in writing to receive service by email, according to a press release from the Office of the Judicial Administration.
“Restoring court information systems safely and securely is our highest priority,” Luckert said. “We are working through a multiphase recovery plan, and it will take time to be fully restored. This temporary rule gives direction to court users who need to meet service requirements without access to familiar tools.”
On Oct. 13, Kansas Judicial Branch spokeswoman Lisa Taylor said in a press release that the court system was having network issues. Taylor identified the following systems as being impacted:
Kansas Courts eFiling
Kansas District Court Public Access Portal
Appellate Case Inquiry System
Kansas Attorney Registration
Kansas Protection Order Portal
Kansas District Court Public Access Portal
Kansas online marriage license application
Central Payment Center
Kansas eCourt
It was revealed that some systems with the Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF) were also impacted by the incident. Reporting from the Associated Press (AP) indicated the possibility that the Kansas Courts experienced a ransomware attack.
According to the Kansas Courts, efforts to bring the systems back online will happen in phases. The Supreme Court has opened a service center in Topeka with limited access to information from the Kansas eCourt Case Management System.
“The Office of Judicial Administration has been working with outside experts to investigate what happened, how it happened, and what is affected,” the latest Office of Judicial Administration press release said. “That investigation is ongoing.”
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