Few institutions are immune from hackers, and San Joaquin County Superior Court is no exception. The court said a substantial amount of personal information was laid bare when its computer network was breached last year.
The court said the breach occurring between Oct. 25 and 30, 2024, included the potential disclosure of Social Security numbers. It also included information on driver’s licenses or California identification cards, tax identification numbers, passport numbers, credit card or debit card numbers, and medical and insurance information.
The court did not say exactly whose data was lost — whether it was employees, jurors, plaintiffs, defendants, security personnel or all. But it did say it has been working with a cybersecurity firm and that the breach was reported to law enforcement.
“To help prevent something like this from happening again, the Superior Court has taken, and will continue to take, steps to enhance the security of its computer network,” the court said in a statement. The court is offering a free one-year membership in a credit bureau’s monitoring network, Experian IdentityWorks, to those affected. The service aims to let people know immediately if their personal information is being used for nefarious purposes and to prevent identity theft.
The court’s statement added detail to the initial disclosure of a breach a year ago.
At that time, Stocktonia reported the court’s online services had been shuttered due to a “cybersecurity incident.” The system included case searches, public records requests and juror updates.
“We took immediate and proactive steps to contain the event, which included isolating our systems from the internet,” court officials said at the time.