AUSTIN, Texas — Some 9-1-1 call centers in Central Texas faced serious difficulties on Sunday when callers and call-takers started having issues hearing each other.
In some cases, calls weren’t even going through.
Cities like Austin and Lakeway were communicating with people on social media, asking them to contact alternative numbers for their emergencies.
The Capital Area Council of Governments, or CAPCOG, which operates local 9-1-1 systems– later announced the threat was due to a cyberattack called a ‘denial of service.’
“It’s primarily when they just flood the system with bogus calls and it just takes the sucks the life out of the network,” said Martin Yarbrough.
Yarbrough is a cybersecurity expert, who has been in the tech industry for decades.
Yarbrough said hackers infiltrate 9-1-1 systems not only to wreak havoc but to hold systems, hostage, in hopes of cashing out.
“It’s a form of extortion and about 50% of the organizations that are ransomed will go ahead and pay the ransomware,” he said.
This is usually how hacks like this work, according to Yarbrough: hackers send out phishing emails or infiltrate a computer without firewall protection.
Once they’re in your system, they can paralyze your computers until you, or your internet security insurance, agree to pay a ransomware.
Yarbrough said most city entities have insurance, but even if you pay ransomware– hackers could still get access to sensitive data.
“That hacker will set up tools that will go through and copy passwords and potentially copy entire data files containing customer data– and you can imagine what data a city government keeps on their people,” he said.
Neither CAPCOG nor the cities affected by the attack have reported sensitive information being leaked– nor have they confirmed if they have paid a ransom.
But Yarbrough said it’s likely this isn’t the last time this happens, “You can probably expect another one because if they were successful with one, they’re probably gonna try it again.”
He added, “[Cities] need to have a security incident response plan ready to go to address those problems.”
The City of Austin tells CBS Austin their response plan is using Austin’s 3-1-1 Call Center to serve as an alternative for life-threatening calls that can’t get through to 9-1-1.
The City of Lakeway said they issued an emergency alert to residents and urged them to call an alternative dispatch emergency number if needed.
Recent reports show Central Texas 9-1-1 systems aren’t alone in being attacked.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, at least two other 9-1-1 systems in the country have been hit by cyberattacks this year.
This prompted DHS to issue a warning about this back in April.
“It’s happening more frequently than not,” said Yarbrough.
The 9-1-1 systems affected have since been restored.
Cities affected by the attack told CBS Austin, they communicate with the public about these issues through social media.
They said this is a good reminder to monitor official city pages in case another issue like this arises.
https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/some-central-texas-9-1-1-systems-were-hacked-on-sunday-experts-say-it-can-happen-again
