Security News > 2021 > February > TDoS Attacks Take Aim at Emergency First-Responder Services

The FBI has warned that telephony denial-of-service attacks are taking aim at emergency dispatch centers, which could make it impossible to call for police, fire or ambulance services.

"The objective is to keep the distraction calls active for as long as possible to overwhelm the victim's telephone system, which may delay or block legitimate calls for service," according to a recent announcement from the FBI. Worryingly, TDoS attacks have been hitting Public Safety Answering Points, which are call centers responsible for connecting callers to emergency services, such as police, firefighting or ambulance services.

The FBI also warned that TDoS attacks could be used in conjunction with a physical attack, when calls to 911 and other emergency numbers would crest.

TDoS attacks can be manual or automated, according to the FBI. In the case of the former, adversaries typically use social networks to encourage individuals to flood a particular number with a calling campaign.

TDoS attacks are not a new phenomenon; Arbor Network started noticing an increase in attacks targeting telephony system infrastructure as far back as July 2012.

TDoS attacks are sometimes part of extortion schemes aimed at private companies in which attackers impersonate a collections agency representative collecting an outstanding loan or other fee.

News URL

https://threatpost.com/tdos-attacks-emergency-first-responder/164176/