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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
911 service provider Lumen blames 911 outage on installation of light
pole
By Andy Rose, Melissa Alonso, Dalia Faheid, Dakin Andone and Sean
Lyngaas, CNN
Updated:
3:27 PM EDT, Thu April 18, 2024
Source: CNN
The outage of 911 systems in several states Wednesday evening was
caused by the installation of a light pole, according to Lumen, a
company that supports some of those systems.
“On April 17, some customers in Nevada, South Dakota and Nebraska
experienced an outage due to a third-party company installing a light
pole – unrelated to our services,” Lumen Global Issues Director
Mark Molzen told CNN on Thursday morning.
The outage lasted less than three hours, according to Molzen, who said
Lumen – a networking company that provides enhanced 911 services to
local communities in multiple states – “worked hard to fix it as
quickly as possible.”
Molzen declined to elaborate on exactly how the light pole installation
resulted in the 911 outage, or where the pole was located. The 911
director in Douglas County, Nebraska, which encompasses Omaha, Lumen
informed the county the outage was related to a “fiber cut.”
“We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate our customers’
patience and understanding,” Molzen said.
Service had been largely restored by Thursday morning, hours after
agencies in the four states announced outages in multiple cities, with
some urging residents in need of assistance to either text 911 or call
using a landline. The outages had been largely addressed within hours,
however, including in Sioux Falls and Rapid City, South Dakota, and Las
Vegas.
The Federal Communications Commission on X that it was “aware of
reports of 911-related outages and we are currently investigating.”
Authorities in Del Rio, Texas, also advised residents Wednesday evening
of an “outage” that affected 911 calls, but a city spokesperson
confirmed those issues were not related to the broader service outage
in three other states.
Lumen does not provide 911 services in Texas, Molzen said.
The Del Rio Police Department on Wednesday attributed problems to a
“major cellular carrier,” telling residents to contact emergency
services using a landline or another carrier.
But Del Rio “was not affected by the 911 service issues experienced
in other cities,” city spokesperson Peter Ojeda told CNN on Thursday.
An outage by a single mobile provider “affected their network
broadly,” so residents were advised to reach emergency services
through alternative methods.
“Our emergency services remained fully operational throughout the
incident, and there was no 911 outage in Del Rio,” Ojeda said.
Agencies point to texts, landlines as workarounds during outages
The outages surfaced Wednesday evening, as agencies such as the Las
Vegas Metropolitan Police Department announced disruptions hindering
their ability to communicate with residents, who were urged to text 911
instead of calling.
While the department initially said it had no timeline for restoring
service, the interruption had been resolved within about two hours.
According to its post on X, authorities were able to see mobile numbers
that had contacted 911, allowing them to reach back out to callers to
provide assistance. During the outage, calls made from landlines during
the outage were not working, nor were calls to its non-emergency line.
The South Dakota Department of Public Safety also announced service had
been restored for the South Dakota 911 system after earlier saying in a
statement it was “aware of a 911 service interruption throughout the
state.”
Similarly, the department said during the outage that texting 911 was
still “operating in most locations,” otherwise residents in need
could contact emergency services using non-emergency lines.
Officials in Sioux Falls and Rapid City also reported the resumption
of 911 services on their respective Facebook pages. The Rapid City
Police Department urged residents to “only utilize 911 services only
if an emergency situation exists.” The City of Sioux Falls said
residents could again call or text 911 in case of emergencies.
Portions of Nebraska, including Chase County, reported outages as
well. Officials in the state capital Lincoln, however, told CNN
their 911 system was operational and not affected.
“911 is down across the State of Nebraska again for all cellular
carriers except T-Mobile,” Chase County said in a Facebook post.
“Landlines can still get through to 911.”
“Dial 911 on a mobile device, and we will be able to see your number
and will call you back right away. 911 calls from landlines are NOT
working at the moment,” the department initially wrote on Facebook.
“There is no estimate for service restoration.”
Outages highlight potential vulnerabilities
While Lumen’s statement indicated the cause of the outage was not
malicious, the service interruptions raise questions about the
fragility of the nation’s 911 infrastructure, particularly in light
of a Department of Homeland Security assessment last week that found
emergency services are vulnerable to cyberattacks – and that the
exploitation of personal data stolen during those ransomware attacks
“poses a persistent criminal threat to victims.”
According to the assessment, such attacks have disrupted 911 networks
and local police departments. It also highlighted that emergency
service systems are often “interconnected,” which makes it more
difficult to protect them from cyberattacks.
Once ransomware actors have hacked systems, the assessment also found
they then “routinely leak, sell, or further exploit a victim’s
data” for criminals to use for other crimes.
Bulletins such as the DHS assessment are distributed to local law
enforcement and companies that run critical infrastructure.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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