Court Services Victoria

Summary

Court Services Victoria (CSV) suffered a Qilin ransomware attack that was detected on 21 December 2023. The attackers accessed CSV's audio-visual archive containing sensitive hearing recordings from multiple Victorian courts. Recordings of hearings between 1 November and 21 December 2023 may have been accessed, with the possibility that some hearings before 1 November were also affected.

What Happened

Court Services Victoria detected a cyberattack on 21 December 2023, though the breach itself occurred earlier on 8 December 2023. The Qilin ransomware group targeted CSV's systems, specifically accessing the audio-visual archive that contained recordings of court hearings.

The attack affected recordings from the Supreme Court, County Court, Magistrates' Court, Children's Court, and Coroners Court of Victoria. The exposed recordings went as far back as November 2023, with the potential for some hearings before 1 November to have been affected.

Impact on Individuals

Court recordings can contain highly sensitive personal information, including testimony from victims of crime, witnesses, defendants, and confidential legal proceedings. The exposure of such recordings could compromise the privacy and safety of vulnerable individuals, particularly in cases involving family law, criminal matters, and children's court proceedings.

The breach potentially affected anyone who participated in court hearings during the affected period, including litigants, witnesses, legal professionals, and court staff. The sensitivity of court proceedings makes this breach particularly concerning for affected individuals.

Organisational Response

Court Services Victoria notified multiple authorities about the breach, including Victoria Police, the Victorian Department of Government Services, and Australia's National Identity and Cyber Support Community Service (IDCARE).

CSV ordered an investigation into the potential data breach to determine the full scope of the compromised information and which specific court proceedings were affected.