About 9,000 court files, including sensitive documents such as apprehended violence orders and affidavits, have been leaked in a data breach of the New South Wales court system’s online registry.
Police were alerted to a breach of the NSW Online Registry website on Tuesday and the state’s cybercrime squad commenced an investigation, NSW police said in statement on Wednesday night.
The registry is an online platform that provides secure access to information in both civil and criminal cases across the NSW court system.
Investigators were working on containing the “major data breach” and establishing the extent of the breach in collaboration with the Department of Communities and Justice, police said.
The registry was unavailable to users from 8pm on Wednesday night, with a notice saying it was down for “scheduled maintenance”.
The NSW attorney general, Michael Daley, said in a statement reported by Nine newspapers: “The NSW government is taking this incident seriously. I am assured that DCJ is working with Cyber Security NSW and the NSW Police to ensure the ongoing integrity of the system.
“They are also working to urgently identify and contact affected users and the public will be kept updated as more information becomes available.”
