Press Release  Massachusetts State 911 Department Determined Firewall Caused Statewide 911 Disruption

Milford — On June 18, 2024, at approximately 1:15 pm, the Massachusetts State 911 Department became aware of a statewide interruption to the 911 system. The disruption lasted approximately two hours until operation was fully restored at 3:15 pm.

Although some calls may not have gone through, the system allows dispatch centers to identify the phone number of callers and return those calls. The Department has not received any reports of emergencies impacted during the interruption.

The State 911 Department moved immediately to address the disruption, addressing the technical issue with its 911 vendor Comtech while alerting local law enforcement through a statewide broadcast network and connecting with the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) to issue a statewide emergency alert.

A preliminary investigation conducted by the State 911 Department and Comtech determined that the outage was the result of a firewall, a safety feature that provides protection against cyberattacks and hacking. The firewall prevented calls from getting to the 911 dispatch centers, also known as Public Safety Answer Points (PSAPs). Comtech’s initial review of the incident has confirmed that the interruption was not the result of a cyberattack or hack; However, the exact reason the firewall stopped calls from reaching dispatch centers remains under review.

As the full review of the cause continues, Comtech has advised State 911 that they have applied a technical solution to ensure that this does not happen again. 

“The Massachusetts State 911 Department is deeply committed to providing reliable, state-of-the-art 911 services to all Massachusetts residents and visitors in an emergency. The Department will take all necessary steps to prevent a future occurrence,” said Executive Director of the State 911 Department Frank Pozniak. “We are grateful to everyone for their patience and cooperation during the outage.”

The State 911 Department wishes to thank state and local emergency response agencies for their swift response to this matter and for working closely with their PSAP to ensure public safety.

In 2023, Massachusetts’ 204 Public Safety Answering Points received a total average of 8,800 calls a day.

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