A firewall malfunction at a 911 emergency call system vendor caused an outage across the state of Massachusetts on Tuesday afternoon, according to a government announcement .
In a press release issued yesterday, it is reported that the state's 911 vendor, Comtech, "informed State 911 that it has implemented a technical solution to ensure this does not happen again."
Read also: Crown Equipment confirms cyberattack
“A preliminary investigation by the State 911 Department and Comtech revealed that the outage was due to a malfunction in the firewall, a security mechanism that protects against cyberattacks and hacking,” the statement said. “The firewall prevented calls from reaching 911 dispatch centers, also known as public safety answering points (PSAPs).”
Comtech's initial review confirmed that the outage was not due to a cyberattack or hacking, but "the exact reason the firewall blocked the calls remains under investigation," the state said.
The 911 outage lasted two hours. Shortly after it began, the State 911 Department notified local law enforcement and issued a statewide emergency alert, advising residents to call their local public safety business line directly in the event of an emergency.
“Although some calls may not have been placed, the system allows dispatch centers to identify callers’ phone numbers and return those calls. The Department has not received any reports of emergency situations being impacted during the outage,” the Massachusetts statement said.
State 911 Department Executive Director Frank Pozniak assured that the department “will take all necessary steps to prevent future incidents.” Massachusetts has 204 Public Safety Response Points, which in 2023 received an average of 8,800 calls per day.
See also: Financial sector: Cyberattacks and ways to protect
In May 2024, Comtech announced a five-year extension of its contract with Massachusetts. The company’s announcement states: “Since 2014, Comtech has developed, implemented and operated a secure IP-based NG911 [Next Generation 911] system for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.” Comtech has been providing public safety and security technology for more than 25 years and says that “service providers, states and local jurisdictions nationwide rely on our portfolio of mission-critical products and services .”
911 outages happen occasionally and are sometimes caused by broader outages in telephone networks. A 37-hour CenturyLink outage in December 2018, which disrupted 911 service for millions of Americans, was caused by “malformed packets.”
Read more: "Emotion-canceling": AI technology for managing angry customers
In February 2024, a major AT&T wireless outage due to a faulty network update led to warnings that access to 911 could be disrupted.
arstechnica
🔒 Protect your privacy with Proton VPN
Swiss VPN from the creators of Proton Mail — strict no-logs policy, strong encryption, and built-in NetShield that blocks ads, trackers, & malware.
- ✔ No-logs, based in Switzerland (except 14-Eyes)
- ✔ NetShield: blocks ads, trackers & malicious domains
- ✔ Covers all devices — free version available
The link is an affiliate link — SecNews may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. It does not affect the independence of our article writing.
