Crime & Public Safety
State court website flaw exposed jury-related records made public in Charlotte
A flaw on the North Carolina Administrative Office of Courts website exposed hundreds of people’s private records online, with the initial report tied to Charlotte. The vulnerability affected jury summons processes that allowed residents to submit an online jury excuse form and upload supporting documents; those uploaded files were posted on publicly accessible links until they were blocked.
According to the documented account, the web vulnerability was tied to jury summons and the uploaded documents included sensitive personal identifiers. Company and government obligations under state law require notification when personal identifying information is exposed. A spokesperson for the North Carolina Department of Justice said the Administrative Office of Courts had not provided a breach notice to the Attorney General’s office as of the report.
Agency action documented in the source shows the exposed information was blocked from public view after investigators were alerted to the issue. The Department of Justice spokesperson also noted that entities that experience a breach must report to the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division and to major consumer reporting agencies “without unreasonable delay,” though the office said it could not assess specifics without more information from the agency that experienced the breach.
Current status in the record: the data were removed from public access after discovery, and the Administrative Office of Courts had not yet submitted a formal breach notice to the Attorney General’s office in the documented account.
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