Sonoma County Superior Court reports data breach, Meow ransomware gang claims responsibility
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The Sonoma County Superior Court is reporting a data breach involving sensitive court documents. The Meow ransomware group, also known as MeowCorp2022 or MeowCorp, has taken responsibility for the attack. The gang claims to have extracted the data during an attack last month.
Te breach appears to be confined to Sonoma County, with no reported impact on neighboring counties, such as Napa County. The investigation into the source and extent of the breach is ongoing, led by law enforcement agencies. The Judicial Council of California has been involved in notifying local officials about the incident.
Despite the breach, public terminals and access to court records at Sonoma County courthouses continue to operate normally, with no interruptions to public services reported.
The breach allegedly involved the theft of nearly 5 GB of data, which is reported to include a variety of sensitive information such as:
- Client and employee data
- Scanned payment files
- Personal details and addresses
- Banking information
- Certificates
- Criminal records
- Court depositions
- DWI records
- Bail bond collection reports
- Pre-trial evaluations
- Legal case filings
- Jail release requests
- Marriage certificates
- Employee payroll details
- Invoices from third-party vendors (dating back to November 2013 and as recent as September 20, 2024)
The full extent of the breach, including which specific documents were compromised and impacted individuals, is still under assessment.
The court has assured that its case management system remains secure, and there have been no disruptions to ongoing court proceedings or public access to court records.
