Security News > 2021 > February > FBI: Telephony denial-of-service attacks can lead to loss of lives
The FBI published this warning on Wednesday as an IC3 public service announcement and as a Private Industry Notification issued to private sector organizations in coordination with DHS-CISA. Attacks on emergency services can lead to loss of lives.
"The IC3 has become aware of increased coercion tactics used by the subjects, which have created a threat to emergency services across the nation," the FBI said in a public service announcement from January 2013.
"The threats have now escalated into a Telephony Denial of Service attacks against the victims' employers, which some have been emergency service agencies."
"The TDoS attacks have tied up the emergency services' telephone lines, preventing them from receiving and responding to legitimate emergency calls."
As the FBI further added in yesterday's warning, malicious actors provide TDoS services and tools to attackers with varying levels of experience, which drastically lowers the skill level needed to launch such attacks.
Before there is an emergency, contact your local emergency services authorities for information on how to request service in the event of a 911 outage.