Cyberattack on Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office Disrupts Jail Releases and Court Access

Four days after a cyberattack hit the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office (OPSO), New Orleans’ criminal justice system is still struggling to get back on track.

The attack has knocked the public case-tracking website DocketMaster offline. The site is a vital tool used daily by defense attorneys, families, and journalists to check court dates, bond postings, and inmate status. Without it, basic information has become hard to access.

Inmates Left Waiting After Posting Bond

Defense attorney Bobby Hjortsberg says the outage has caused serious delays for inmates who should have already been released.

“I had clients who posted bond but weren’t let out of jail until almost a day later,” Hjortsberg said. “That’s unacceptable. Once bond is posted, people should be released right away.”

Without DocketMaster, families and lawyers are left making phone calls or showing up at courthouses in person just to get updates. Unlike most Louisiana parishes, Orleans Parish doesn’t have a separate online Clerk of Court portal as a backup, leaving the city at a standstill.

“New Orleans doesn’t have anything that even resembles a modern online system,” Hjortsberg added.

Why Jails Are Prime Targets

Cybersecurity experts say the attack on OPSO reflects a growing national trend. Tulane University’s Joshua Copeland explained that ransomware groups often target institutions that handle sensitive data and can’t afford downtime.

“They usually get in through a phishing email or a weak connection,” Copeland said. “Once inside, they steal data, lock files, and sometimes even encrypt backups. Victims are then forced to either restore from offline backups or consider paying.”

The personal information stored in jails—names, addresses, Social Security numbers—makes them especially valuable targets for identity theft schemes. Beyond the data, the urgent nature of jails, hospitals, and schools puts enormous pressure on officials to pay ransoms quickly.

“These aren’t just IT issues,” Copeland warned. “They can be life-or-death. In Germany, a ransomware attack forced a hospital to reroute a patient who later died.”

Costs vs. Priorities

Despite the risks, cybersecurity often takes a back seat to other pressing needs like staffing and operations. Hiring skilled cybersecurity staff can cost between $50,000 and $150,000 a year, with software and equipment adding even more to the bill.

Still, experts say solutions are available. At Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO), Dr. Ken Williams and his cybersecurity students offer free risk assessments to local agencies.

“If you don’t know your weaknesses, you don’t know what’s going to hurt you,” Williams said. “We can help identify those risks at no cost. Agencies get insights, and students get real-world training.”

A Wake-Up Call for New Orleans

For now, OPSO has not provided a clear update on when DocketMaster will be restored. The Sheriff’s Office said last Friday that bond and release communications were operational again and that they are working with state partners to investigate the attack.

But experts warn the bigger lesson shouldn’t be ignored. Many public systems still run on outdated technology, sometimes decades old, leaving them wide open to attacks.

“This should be a wake-up call,” Copeland said. “Cyberattacks can disrupt justice, public safety, and even put lives at risk. The tools to prevent it exist, but it comes down to priorities.”