'Too protective.' 911 system failure blamed on software for cyberattacks. What happened?

A firewall problem caused Tuesday's statewide outage of the 911 emergency system, public safety officials revealed Wednesday.

The firewall is a safety feature that is intended to prevent cyberattacks and hacking, the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said. Comtech, the state's 911 vendor, said Tuesday's incident did not occur because of a cyberattack or hack, based on an initial review.

But the firewall problem prevented calls from reaching 911 dispatch centers from around 1:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. amid a heat wave arriving in Massachusetts, according to EOPSS.

"It was a problem involving software, actually a firewall-protected system, that was actually too protective and ended up blocking calls from going through for a period of about two hours," Gov. Maura Healey told reporters Wednesday after an unrelated State House event. "I'm not aware of any emergencies or issues in terms of people negatively impacted as a result of that. But obviously you know, for me, it's about finding out what happened, getting the answers, making sure that it never happens again, and that's what we're doing."

Comtech conducted a preliminary investigation with the State 911 Department. The matter remains under review as officials work to understand the "exact reason" that triggered the firewall disruption, EOPSS said.

Comtech has implemented a technical solution to "ensure that this does not happen again," EOPSS said.

"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," State 911 Department Executive Director Frank Pozniak said in a statement. "We are grateful to everyone for their patience and cooperation during the outage."

Healey, asked whether a third-party vendor is responsible for the outage, said, "I'm not suggesting fault at all."

"What I'm suggesting is that we're going to make sure, and we have got a handle on it now, and we're going to make sure that the vendor, and the equipment, and the software is where it needs to be in order to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our residents," Healey said.

During the outage, Bay Staters were instructed to call their local police department, activate a nearby firebox, or go to their nearest police or fire station.

Despite the disrupted calls, state officials say the 911 system allows dispatch centers to identify phone numbers and return calls. In 2023, the centers received an average of 8,800 calls a day, officials said.

This article originally appeared on Cape Cod Times: Here's what caused Tuesday's statewide 911 outage in Massachusetts