Investigation found: 911 emergency number failure in Massachusetts caused by firewall software

After investigating Tuesday’s 911 outage in Massachusetts, authorities determined it was caused by firewall software used by the Massachusetts State Emergency Services Center and its emergency services provider designed to protect the system from cyberattacks.

The outage, which lasted from 1:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday, prevented calls from reaching emergency call centers, according to a statement from the State Emergency Operations Center and the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security released on Wednesday. While the preliminary investigation found that the firewall was the cause, the exact reason why the firewall did not reach emergency call centers is still under investigation, the statement said.

When the state’s 911 emergency number became aware of the problem, a statewide emergency alert was issued, urging residents to call the public safety agency’s management instead, according to a screenshot published by the Associated Press. 911 also discussed the technical issue with Comtech, the statement said, and local law enforcement was alerted to the problem through a statewide broadcast network.

While some calls were unable to reach dispatch centers, the system allowed dispatch centers to identify callers’ phone numbers and call them back, the statement said. The department also said it had not received any reports of emergencies affected by the outage.

“The Massachusetts State 911 Division is committed to providing reliable, state-of-the-art 911 services to all Massachusetts residents and visitors in the event of an emergency. The department will take all necessary steps to prevent a future incident,” Frank Pozniak, executive director of the state’s 911 Division, said in the statement. “We are grateful for everyone’s patience and cooperation during the outage.”

According to the statement, the outage remains under full investigation and Comtech has informed State 911 that a technical fix has been implemented to ensure similar outages do not recur.