Justice Apologizes For Iowa Court System Authorizing Security Vulnerability Testing That Led To Break-Ins

Justice Apologizes For Iowa Court System Authorizing Security Vulnerability Testing That Led To Break-Ins

At a legislative hearing Friday, court administrators answered questions about their decision to hire “penetration testers” who were arrested for burglary last month.

The chief justice of the Iowa Supreme Court publicly apologized Friday for the court system’s authorization of security vulnerability tests that led to the arrests of two Coalfire employees for courthouse break-ins. 

The state senate’s Government Oversight Committee held a hearing to hear testimony about the break-ins at the Dallas and Polk County courthouses in September. According to reporting from The Des Moines Register, the Coalfire employees were following through on a contract signed by Iowa court system officials hiring them to test the “adequacy and effectiveness” of security at government buildings. 

"In our efforts to fulfill our duty to protect confidential information of Iowans from cyberattacks, mistakes were made," Chief Justice Mark Cady said during the hearing. "We are doing everything possible to correct those mistakes, be accountable for the mistakes and to make sure they never, ever occur again." 

Now, information technology officials with the state court system say that the employees, who were able to gain access to two courthouses over the course of two nights, acted outside of the scope of the contract. 

The Iowa court administration hired the company to test for cybersecurity vulnerabilities and "did not intend, or anticipate, those efforts to include the forced entry into a building," according to a statement given to the Register last month. 

In turn, local law enforcement were not warned about the break-ins and responded to an alarm at the Dallas County courthouse as if it were a real burglary. While the two employees arrested for third-degree burglary are free and there are no proceedings scheduled for their cases, legislators and local police say that the situation was dangerous for all involved. 

Legislators will continue their investigation until more facts are gathered, according to Sen. Amy Sinclair, the chair of the committee.  

"It is outside the scope of the judicial branch to authorize individuals to illegally break into facilities that they neither own nor provide security for," she told the Register. 

Todd Nuccio, the state court administrator, said that the contract had not been reviewed by a legal team and that oversight steps will be considered in the future, according to the Register. Sen. Claire Celsi told the Register that the court’s shrinking budget may have played a role, leading to them signing the contract and take the most “efficient” route. 

"It’s faintly disturbing that a contract of this magnitude was allowed to move forward without further review from someone higher up the food chain maybe," Celsi said. 

About the Author

Haley Samsel is an Associate Content Editor for the Infrastructure Solutions Group at 1105 Media.

Featured

  • 12 Commercial Crime Sites to Do Your Research

    12 Commercial Crime Sites to Do Your Research

    Understanding crime statistics in your industry and area is crucial for making important decisions about your security budget. With so much information out there, how can you know which statistics to trust? Read Now

  • Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    Boosting Safety and Efficiency

    In alignment with the state of Mississippi’s mission of “Empowering Mississippi citizens to stay connected and engaged with their government,” Salient's CompleteView VMS is being installed throughout more than 150 state boards, commissions and agencies in order to ensure safety for thousands of constituents who access state services daily. Read Now

  • Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    Live From GSX: Post-Show Review

    This year’s Live From GSX program was a rousing success! Again, we’d like to thank our partners, and IPVideo, for working with us and letting us broadcast their solutions to the industry. You can follow our Live From GSX 2023 page to keep up with post-show developments and announcements. And if you’re interested in working with us in 2024, please don’t hesitate to ask about our Live From programs for ISC West in March or next year’s GSX. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX
  • People Say the Funniest Things

    People Say the Funniest Things

    By all accounts, GSX version 2023 was completely successful. Apparently, there were plenty of mix-ups with the airlines and getting aircraft from the East Coast into Big D. I am all ears when I am in a gathering of people. You never know when a nugget of information might flip out. Read Now

    • Industry Events
    • GSX

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • FEP GameChanger

    FEP GameChanger

    Paige Datacom Solutions Introduces Important and Innovative Cabling Products GameChanger Cable, a proven and patented solution that significantly exceeds the reach of traditional category cable will now have a FEP/FEP construction. 3

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation. 3

  • Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden CV-7600 High Security Card Readers

    Camden Door Controls has relaunched its CV-7600 card readers in response to growing market demand for a more secure alternative to standard proximity credentials that can be easily cloned. CV-7600 readers support MIFARE DESFire EV1 & EV2 encryption technology credentials, making them virtually clone-proof and highly secure. 3