An April 10 report from the Department of Homeland Security had warned that emergency call services, such as 911, are a likely target for cyberattacks. The alert came just one day after emergency call services suffered an interruption in several states.
🚨#BREAKING: There’s a Major 911 outages hitting the entire state of South Dakota and becoming nationwide
Currently, mysterious widespread outages are occurring across the nation, including the whole state of South Dakota and Nebraska, parts of Nevada,… pic.twitter.com/UdDjYDPYAB
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) April 18, 2024
In that sense, the report compiled by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and obtained by ABC News, highlighted authorities' concerns that the Emergency Services Sector could be attacked and confidential data stolen, which in turn hampers both the medical and police response services.
"Cybercriminal exploitation of data stolen during ransomware attacks -a type of malware that locks a victim's data or device and threatens to keep it locked. against the Emergency Service Sector (ESS) is likely to pose a persistent criminal threat due to the exposure and availability of victims' personal information," the bulletin said.
Likewise, the DHS analysis highlighted that ransomware attacks have affected Police Department networks and 911 call center operations on other occasions. According to the report, some managed to knock out computer-assisted dispatch services or forced emergency services to return to the office to continue their operations.
"Whereas cyberattacks were once considered to be a technology issue, today they’re considered a threat to the very operations of law enforcement and other public safety agencies," said John Cohen, former intelligence chief at the Department of Homeland Security and now an ABC News contributor.
In addition, the report highlighted that many emergency services equipment needs to be modernized. "The new federal analysis punctuates an already volatile moment in America, as partisan tensions see the ahead of a high-stakes presidential election, multiple wars are being waged abroad, and political violence has already broken out overseas," noted ABCNews.
This Thursday, emergency services in several states reported that their operations were interrupted. So far, no details have been given about what caused the outage.
"911 SERVICES DOWN STATEWIDE: South Dakota State Radio has advised us that 911 services are currently down statewide. For residents of Rapid City or Pennington County, 605-394-4131 or 605-394-2151 can be used to contact dispatch for assistance from first responders," the Rapid City Police Department said.
911 SERVICES DOWN STATEWIDE: South Dakota State Radio has advised us that 911 services are currently down statewide. For residents of Rapid City or Pennington County, 605-394-4131 or 605-394-2151 can be used to contact dispatch for assistance from first responders.
— RapidCityPD (@RapidCityPD) April 18, 2024
Similar was the message from the authorities in Nevada. "URGENT: Southern Nevada: There is a 911 outage impacting your ability to contact emergency services in Southern Nevada right now," State Police wrote.
Meanwhile, Texas and Nebraska were also affected by the situation.
URGENT: Southern Nevada - there is a 911 outage impacting your ability to contact Emergency Services in Southern Nevada right now.
To contact the Nevada Highway Patrol Dispatch, call *NHP or 775 687 0400.
— Nevada State Police (@NVStatePolice) April 18, 2024
