The Department of Homeland Security ( DHS) issued an article just hours before reports of nationwide 911 outages warning emergency services as the likely target of cyber-attackers. DEVELOPING: 911 Outages Officially Impacting Entire State Of South Dakota, Spreading NationwideCoincidence, right? Who actually thinks that? ” Calling 911 is meant to save lives. However, according to a new national assessment, the emergency service and others like it are also seen as ripe targets for criminally-minded cyber-attackers, and any vulnerability in those crucial networks can result in a number of harmful ripple effects, according to ABC News on Wednesday. The Department of Homeland Security ( DHS) analysis, which was obtained by ABC News, raises concerns that the Emergency Service Sector can be abused and mined for sensitive data, which would hamper medical and law enforcement services and pose an ongoing threat to personal information and public safety, the report wrote. Emergency services are extremely likely targets for cyberattacks, warns the Department of Homeland Security. https ://t. co/cn86XH5NV8— World News Tonight ( @ABCWorldNews ) April 17, 2024 WTF? Actually, only a few hours back? ! https ://t. co/5AxpwlVumc pic. twitter. com/vZIJ2tACfw— Nick Sortor ( @nicksortor ) April 18, 2024Per ABC News :”Cybercriminal exploitation of data stolen during ransomware attacks against the Emergency Service Sector ( ESS) likely poses a persistent criminal threat due to the exposure and availability of victims ’ personal information,” according to the April 10 bulletin. The bulletin continued, citing Ransomware attacks that have “disrupted the networks of the police department and 911 call center operations, ” forcing emergency services to revert to manual dispatching to maintain their operations. ”Once stolen, potentially sensitive personal information and police records can be leaked, sold or otherwise used by the attackers “to facilitate additional crimes — including extortion, identity theft, and swatting, ” the DHS bulletin said. According to John Cohen, the former intelligence chief at the Department of Homeland Security and a contributor to ABC News, cyberattacks were previously seen as a technology issue, but they are now seen as a threat to the pretty operations of law enforcement and other public safety organizations. Imagine the effects of a cyberattack on the regional public safety, a disruption of police communication, a public’s inability to contact local police in an emergency, and a failure to allow detectives and investigators to access sensitive case data, Cohen continued. If a foreign terrorist organization, a nation state, can stifle law enforcement actions by evoking their 911 call center, or if police departments ca n’t gain access to investigative or other significant information, it will stymie their emergency response and aid a threat actor in achieving their operational goals. In case anyone is unsure whether this was a cyberattack. The DHS literally issued a warning today, hours before this multi-state incident involving 911 calls being targeted for cyberattacks http ://t. co/HEVpKEm4Hs— Intel Agape ( @AgapeInOurHeart ) April 18, 2024ABC News JUST TODAY, came out with an article called “Emergency services a likely target for cyberattacks, warns DHS” You could n’t even make this up if you tried. For genuine. “Ransomware attacks have “disrupted the networks of police department and 911 call center … https ://t. co/t45TrbpxrL pic. twitter. com/BzqkqcV4J9— The Patriot Voice (@TPV_John ) April 18, 2024Multiple states have reportedly been impacted by 911 outages. #UPDATE: These, all 911 systems are now reported to be over, affecting all or parts of at least ten states, which are officially experiencing common outages. These outages are having an effect • Minnesota
• New England
• Texas
• Florida
• Nebraska nationwide
• Nevada… — R A W S A L E R T S ( @rawsalerts ) April 18, 2024 #UPDATE: 911 systems are now being reported down in all or part of at least EIGHT STATES, including: • Texas
• Florida
• Nebraska
• Nevada
• South Dakota
• Iowa
• Kentucky
• WisconsinNO REASON HAS BEEN GIVEN. https ://t. co/hm7AfvcDjA pic. twitter. com/7yXKy8pBJT— Nick Sortor ( @nicksortor ) April 18, 2024Some X users speculated a cyberattack may be underway. BREAKING UPDATE: 911 Lines NOW DOWN in New England and Minnesota. . MASSIVE CYBER ATTACK UNDER WAY… Now 5 STATES effected. . https ://t. co/wfLtlQaEo1 pic. twitter. com/UEsgeDnvHB— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto ) April 18, 2024From The National Desk :Authorities across multiple U. S. states reported 911 outages and disruptions Wednesday. The following states were impacted :South DakotaNebraskaTexasIowaFloridaWisconsinKentuckyThe cause of the outages was n’t immediately known, with authorities investigating. This story is developing. [[{“value”:”
ABC News published a story just hours before reports of nationwide outages of 911. The article stated that the Department of Homeland Security had warned emergency services they were likely to be targeted by cyber-attackers. DEVELOPING 911 Outages Impacting Entire South Dakota State, Spreading Nationwide Coincidence? Who believes that? “Calling 911 is supposed to save lives.” ABC News reported Wednesday that the federal assessment found that criminal cyber-attackers are targeting emergency services and other similar organizations. “Any vulnerability in these critical networks can expose victims a variety of dangerous ripple effects,” ABC News stated. The analysis, which was compiled by DHS and obtained by ABC News outlines concerns about the Emergency Service Sector being exploited and mined to obtain sensitive data. This could hamper medical and law enforcement service and pose a threat to personal information as well as public safety. Homeland Security warns that cyberattacks on emergency services are becoming more common. https://t.co/cn86XH5NV8 — World News Tonight (@ABCWorldNews) April 17, 2024 WTF? Literally just HOURS before?! https://t.co/5AxpwlVumc pic.twitter.com/vZIJ2tACfw — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 18, 2024 Per ABC News: “Cybercriminal exploitation of data stolen during ransomware attacks against the Emergency Service Sector (ESS) likely poses a persistent criminal threat due to the exposure and availability of victims’ personal information,” according to the April 10 bulletin. The bulletin stated that ransomware attacks “disrupted networks of police departments and 911 call centers” and forced emergency services to “revert to manual dispatching in order to sustain their operations.” Once stolen information, including sensitive personal data and police records, can be sold, leaked or used by attackers to facilitate other crimes, such as extortion and identity theft. John Cohen, former intelligence chief for the Department of Homeland Security and now an ABC News contributor, said that cyberattacks are no longer considered a technology problem, but a threat to law enforcement agencies. Cohen said, “Imagine what would happen to local public safety in the event that jail management systems became inoperable due to a cyberattack. Imagine if police communication capabilities were disrupted. Imagine if the public could not contact local police during an emergency. Imagine denying detectives and investigators access to sensitive case data. If anyone is wondering if this was a Cyber Attack, the DHS literally issued a warning today hours before this multi state incident affecting 911 calls coming under a cyber attackhttps://t.co/HEVpKEm4Hs — Intel Agape (@AgapeInOurHeart) April 18, 2024 The DHS literally put out a warning today hours before this multi state incident affecting 911 calls coming under a cyber attackhttps://t.co/HEVpKEm4Hs — Intel Agape (@AgapeInOurHeart) April 18, 2024 ABC News JUST TODAY, came out with an article called “Emergency services a likely target for cyberattacks, warns DHS” You couldn’t even make this up if you tried. For real. “Ransomware attacks have “disrupted the networks of police department and 911 call center… https://t.co/t45TrbpxrL pic.twitter.com/BzqkqcV4J9 — The Patriot Voice (@TPV_John) April 18, 2024 Multiple states have reportedly been impacted by 911 outages. All 911 systems are reported to be down in all or parts of ten states. These outages have an impact * MinnesotaNew England
* Texas
Florida
* Nebraska statewide
* Nevada… — RAW S A L E E R T S (@rawsalerts). April 18, 2024. #UPDATE: At least EIGHT STATES are reporting 911 systems down, including:
Florida
* Nebraska
* Nevada
South Dakota
* Iowa
* Kentucky
* Wisconsin NO REASON HAS BEEN GIVEN. https://t.co/hm7AfvcDjA pic.twitter.com/7yXKy8pBJT — Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 18, 2024 Some X users speculated a cyberattack may be underway. BREAKING UPDATE – 911 Lines are now down in New England and Minnesota. MASSIVE CYBER ATTACK IS UNDER WAY… Currently 5 STATES effected.. https://t.co/wfLtlQaEo1 pic.twitter.com/UEsgeDnvHB — Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) April 18, 2024 From The National Desk: Authorities across multiple U.S. states reported 911 outages and disruptions Wednesday. South Dakota Nebraska Texas Iowa Florida Wisconsin Kentucky Authorities are investigating the cause of the outages. This story is evolving.
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