The Public Prosecution Service (OM) is gradually being reconnected to the internet. All systems were taken offline last month due to a hack. According to the OM, no data was stolen or manipulated.
According to external experts, it is safe again to bring the OM online step by step. Previously, the National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) had found a “vulnerability” in the systems that employees use to access the office environment. Hackers had abused this.
Employees could not log in outside OM locations, for example, due to the downed systems. They were also not reachable by email, and other digital systems worked limitedly. The first step now is to make it possible for employees to email the outside world again.
The next systems to come online will follow the order of the legal process. For example, it will first be possible to register arrests, after which it will be possible to record convictions in the next phase.
According to the OM, it is important that it goes online again in phases, because the systems are internally linked to those of the police and the Central Judicial Collection Agency (CJIB), among others. “The restart is carefully coordinated with all chain partners to cause as little disruption to their systems and processes as possible.”
It will take some time before all systems are reconnected to the internet. It is still unclear what the impact of this will be on lawsuits taking place in the coming weeks.
Until all systems are functioning properly again, employees must look for creative solutions to allow lawsuits to proceed. For example, courts and tribunals have helped the OM by printing documents for prosecutors.
The National Office is conducting a criminal investigation into the hack. The OM cannot provide further details because the investigation is still in full swing.