CLEVELAND — On Monday night, a spokesperson announced the Cleveland Municipal Court will reopen to the public on Wednesday.
We were sent the following statement:
The Cleveland Municipal Court will reopen to the public on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. All cases previously scheduled for that day, in the General Division, will be heard.
Court operations with the exception of the jail docket were suspended on February 23, 2025, following the cybersecurity incident the Court previously disclosed. The investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Due to the closure of the Cleveland Municipal Court, all criminal and civil cases that were set for hearings between February 24, 2025 and March 11, 2025 will be rescheduled no less than 30 days after the Court reopens. Notices will be sent by the Clerk of Court to all parties involved.
A long three weeks for residents
On Monday, the shutdown of Cleveland Municipal and Housing Court entered its third week. Arraignments for people in jail were still happening, but that’s about it.
On day 11 of the cyber attack, there were more security staff roaming the halls than people trying to settle up cases.
The court administration would only say the investigation continued.
“They provide so many services to so many people constantly. It really affects people’s lives. So I think even being down for a day is very noticeable,” said Alex Hamerstone with information security consultant company TrustedSec.
Feb. 23 is when the cyber-attack began. One week later, the state’s cyber-response force completed its mission at Cleveland Municipal Court.
“It may be because they’ve stopped the threat, they've stopped any bleeding, they've gotten rid of any access the attackers may have had and now we’re in a phase of rebuilding things,” Hamerstone said.
But people like Willie Phelps could not get things done, like trying to settle a dispute with his landlord.
On top of all of that, Phelps was worried about his personal information.
"Are we going to get our identities stolen? What is the impact of this?" Phelps asked.
Questions remain
No one answered our questions despite repeated requests. Like who attacked the court’s systems, whether the attacker demanded a ransom, or if personal information of court workers and citizens was compromised or at risk?
“My recommendation is having daily updates right, even if they’re written or press conferences, just to let people know even if the answer is we don’t yet know, but people are very concerned,” Hamerstone said.
Hamerstone does not have insider knowledge of this attack, but says in the absence of information, people will speculate and concerns will rise.
“I really do think there’s a higher responsibility for organizations who have access to your data that you don’t have a choice in to make sure we’re keeping it safe,” Hamerstone said.
So why the secrecy?
"You want to make sure the information you’re sharing with the public is what actually happened to tamp down speculation things like that and give the right message. It may also be they’re still figuring it out they may not know,” Hamerstone said.
