The Cleveland Municipal Court, including Cleveland Housing Court, will remain closed today, one week after it was hit by a cyber event.
On its Facebook page on 24 February, it said it is currently investigating a cyber incident. Although it has not confirmed its nature and scope, it said it is taking this incident seriously.
The court was closed all last week, and according to Mike Negray, Deputy Court Administrator at Cleveland Municipal Court, it will remain closed on Monday except for jail cases.
“As a precautionary measure, the Court has shut down the affected systems while we focus on securing and restoring services safely. These systems will remain offline until we have a better understanding of the situation,” the statement read.
All internal systems and software platforms will be shut down until further notice. The Cleveland Municipal Court will be closed except for essential staff, and normal business will not be conducted with the public.
“We take cyber threats extremely seriously and are working expeditiously to rectify the situation as soon as possible,” the statement added.
Maryland in the Crosshairs
This latest attack happened just a few days after a weekend cyberattack prompted Anne Arundel County, Maryland, to shut down operations and close offices on Monday, forcing non-emergency government employees to work remotely.
While offices reopened Tuesday, officials said they were taking a “proactive approach” until they’re able to safely restore operations, and eligible employees were encouraged to work remotely due to potential internet connectivity issues.
“While we have made some progress with securing and restoring our systems, we cannot share more details about the incident yet for several reasons: we are still working to understand the scope and impact of the incident, we do not want to potentially provide information to the potential threat actors, and we are working to recover from the incident as quickly as we can,” officials said.
Cyber Incidents Can Happen to Anyone
Emily Phelps, Director at Cyware, said disruptions like these highlight the critical need for robust threat intelligence and response strategies.
“Cyber incidents can happen to any organization, and swift action to contain and mitigate damage is essential. However, reactive measures alone aren’t enough—having the right intelligence to anticipate and prevent threats before they escalate is just as crucial. As attacks continue to disrupt municipal services, it’s clear that cybersecurity resilience isn’t just about response but proactively managing risks through intelligence-driven security operations,” she adds.
“Public sector organizations, often targeted due to their essential services and sensitive data, must prioritize threat visibility and collaboration to stay ahead of adversaries. A well-integrated approach to threat intelligence can help prevent extended shutdowns and ensure continuity of critical operations,” Phelps ended.
Information Security Buzz News Editor
Kirsten Doyle has been in the technology journalism and editing space for nearly 24 years, during which time she has developed a great love for all aspects of technology, as well as words themselves. Her experience spans B2B tech, with a lot of focus on cybersecurity, cloud, enterprise, digital transformation, and data centre. Her specialties are in news, thought leadership, features, white papers, and PR writing, and she is an experienced editor for both print and online publications.
The opinions expressed in this post belong to the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of Information Security Buzz.