Overview

• Officials say an outsider encrypted files to force payment, but the Attorney General’s Office declined to pay.
• Courts paused proceedings involving the office, including a Philadelphia order halting civil trials through Sept. 12 and post-conviction cases through Sept. 21, affecting nearly 200 matters.
• All three federal district courts in Pennsylvania issued standing orders staying civil cases tied to the office.
• Most staff have regained email, with the main phone line and website functioning, though some systems and the home-improvement contractor portal remain offline.
• A multiagency investigation is underway and the FBI is aware, with no claim of responsibility and no confirmation of any data theft; the office says it does not expect cases to be harmed solely by the outage.