DHS survey highlights need to modernize nation’s 911 services

A recent Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bulletin highlighting the cybersecurity risks faced by 911 emergency services underscores the urgency in bringing many of them into the 21st century. 

The federal assessment, first reported by ABC News, argues that ransomware attacks against the Emergency Service Sector (ESS) disrupt law enforcement services and expose victims’ personal information. 

Once stolen, the information can then be used to "facilitate additional crimes – including extortion, identity theft, and swatting," the April 10 bulletin said.  

The problem is most acute in areas of the country with outdated infrastructure and technology, areas that often lack funding to modernize. 

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FOX Business spoke to the National Emergency Number Association (NENA) for an assessment on the state of emergency services nationwide. 

NENA CEO Brian Fontes noted that much of the technology being used in 2024 dates back to the 20th century. 

"We need to have a broader understanding of the role and function of 911," Fontes said, noting that much information is lost when pushed to another 911 center. "In a truly, 21st century model for next generation 911, the ability to push the information that was originally entered into that call to 911 and to other 911 centers… will improve speed of service in response to those emergency calls." 

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He said bolstering defenses against possible cyberattacks start with simple things like maintaining regular cyber hygiene. 

"I think that as you move into next generation 911 technology, the ability to isolate a center that may be under attack and move those people calling that center to another center that would be able to access data that’s in the cloud for that particular community would be very helpful." 

NENA CTO Brandon Abley noted that the nature of threats is evolving given that the nature of 911 emergency services are increasingly data-driven. 

"By standardizing a lot of these functions that right now are being provided as disparate platforms, by standardizing them inside of a shared secure environment where we have a very high level of security and a strong notion of identity, credentials and access management. You do you do take control of your threat surface," Abley said. 

Their comments came after multiple emergency call services experienced outages nationwide Wednesday and Thursday. 

The entire state of South Dakota experienced 911 emergency call line outages, as well as parts of Nebraska, Nevada and Texas. Officials in South Dakota and Nevada told Reuters early Thursday morning that service has been restored. 

Local law enforcement used social media to inform residents that emergency 911-calls were not working, where reports at one time said as many as eight states had been affected. Other states mentioned were Florida, Kentucky, Iowa and Wisconsin. That led many social media followers to chat of a possible "purge."

Despite the outages and the DHS bulletin, Abley insisted there was no need for alarmism, clarifying that measures are underway to advance the nation’s 911 systems. 

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"We are advancing our 911 systems in the United States, we are also advancing our security," Abley said. "We have a lot of work to do, and we have a long way to go, but it is an area where there is constant and significant improvement." 

Fox News Digital's Sarah Rumpf-Whitten contributed to this report.