A massive cyberattack is suspected to have caused a 911 emergency service outage that affected four states across the country, leaving millions of people without emergency assistance.
Cities as large as Las Vegas, as well as the entire state of South Dakota and towns in Texas and Nebraska announced the outages Wednesday night.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) warned of increased risks of cyber attacks on 911 services as they have migrated to digital systems.
In an analysis compiled by the agency and published by ABC News Just hours before the outages, they raised concerns about how emergency services could be exploited to obtain sensitive data.
The bulletin said the ransomware attacks have “disrupted police department networks and 911 call center operations.”
Officials asked callers not to test the phone line while they try to restore service.
Cities as large as Las Vegas, as well as towns in South Dakota and Nebraska, have announced the outages and published administrative numbers as alternatives.
The bulletin adds: “Cybercriminal exploitation of data stolen during ransomware attacks against the Emergency Services Sector (ESS) likely represents a persistent criminal threat due to the exposure and availability of victims’ personal information.”
DHS said that once stolen, potentially sensitive personal information, including police records, could be leaked, sold or used to facilitate other crimes such as extortion or identity theft.
‘In addition, a lot of resources need to be dedicated to addressing it. And it can also prevent us from conducting investigations.”
Officials in South Dakota, Nevada and Las Vegas said 911 services had been restored, but have not yet identified the official cause of the outage.
In Las Vegas specifically, no estimate was initially given after an outage wiped out landline and cell phone connectivity to the crucial 911 number.
Authorities asked callers not to test the phone line while they try to restore service, amid fears that unreported crimes are being committed.
Nearby Henderson, Nevada, was also facing a 911 outage, but several other emergency services were still operating.
Also affected were the entire state of South Dakota, Dundy County, Kearney County, Howard County, and Fremont, Nebraska, as well as Del Rio, Texas.
The emergency mobile number to contact the police, ambulances and fire brigade was not connected to the call centers for many hours during the night.
Police urged the public to call alternative numbers if they needed help.
In South Dakota, one county said they still appeared to be texting 911.
Others suggested that members of the public who need help should call 911 from a mobile device and wait for the service to call them back.
In Las Vegas and South Dakota, police announced shortly after 10 p.m. local time that service had been restored after a three-hour interruption.
John Cohen, former DHS intelligence chief and now an ABC contributor, said: “While cyberattacks were once seen as a technological issue, today they are seen as a threat to the very operations of law enforcement and other security agencies. public”. .’
Robert Boyce, another contributor and retired NYPD chief of detectives, said: “For a police department, a fire department or any emergency service to be hijacked in any way, it’s a huge security problem. public”.
‘In addition, a lot of resources need to be dedicated to addressing it. And it can also prevent us from conducting investigations.”
Several cyberattacks targeting 911 systems have disrupted services in recent years, one of which, in 2017, paralyzed 911 centers in more than a dozen states.
A Federal Communications Commission spokesperson told DailyMail.com: “We are aware of reports of 911-related outages and are currently investigating.”