The Philly courts website is finally back up

After a month of preventative shutdown, the Philly courts website is back up and running … mostly.

The First Judicial District announced this morning via Twitter that shutdown had ceased.

Our website is back up! Please note that some online services are still not available at this time.

— PhilaCourts (@PhilaCourts) June 26, 2019

Currently, the e-filing system, docket access and e-jury reporting system are unrestored, and the courts staff say they’re working to restore the services as soon as possible (so yes, you still might have to confirm your jury duty time via social media).

However, PhilaCourts confirmed via Twitter that when e-filing is restored, it will only be compatible with Firefox, Safari and Edge (so not users of Chrome and, if they still exist, Internet Explorer).

At this time that is correct.

— PhilaCourts (@PhilaCourts) June 26, 2019

The courts website was shut down May 21 as a preventative measure after a virus struck multiple computers. Staffers were able to use their email again as of June 6 and the Municipal Court Claims System was back the following week.

The shutdown also prompted City Councilmember Brian O’Neill to ask for a formal hearing about whether or not the city is prepared for any future cyberattacks.

Since our last update, the city released the name of the security firm hired to help with the website’s return: Erdenheim-based SoluStaff.

As for the origin of the shutdown, First Judicial District administrator Joseph Evers said last week that the attack might be from Russia, but City of Philadelphia Chief Information Officer Mark Wheeler told The Inquirer this week that the FBI had traced the IP address to its source, but it “wasn’t Russian.” Evers also said that the remaining portals should be up by the end of the week.

We hope this means the courts’ social media pages return to their old-fashioned role: complaining about jury duty.