An investigation is underway into whether multiple 911 system outages which left more than 1 million people across southern Arizona without service earlier this month were the result of sabotage or a distributed denial of service (DDoS), but the outages may simply have been the latest in a string of problems for the service provider.
Cochise, Pima, and Santa Cruz counties lost 911 services for several hours in the morning of June 6 when their systems experienced an undisclosed problem. The outages occurred amid protests related to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, leading public safety agencies across the region to issue alerts via news outlets and social media explaining alternative methods for requesting an emergency response.
The affected counties all use a 911 network provided by Qwest Corporation, which does business in Arizona as CenturyLink QC. Days later, the company acknowledged the matter was under investigation.
“We have heard speculation that there might have been a DDoS attack or other sabotage to our network,” said CenturyLink spokesman Mark Molzen told Arizona Daily Independent shortly after the outages. “While we continue to investigate, we have not seen any evidence of such attacks.”
DDoS cyberattacks involve efforts to overwhelm an online service and website by generating a flood of internet traffic to a site, network or server than can be handled at one time. The result is a “crash” that leaves the target temporarily inoperable, and also susceptible to malicious software or even data breaches.
Although it’s possible the June 6 outages were the result of outside bad actors, a review of public records shows such problems with CenturyLink’s 911 systems is nothing new.
On May 14, the company was named in a scathing 16-page Order to Show Cause issued by the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) which provides regulatory oversight of the public service corporation. The Order stemmed from concerned by the commissioners of whether CenturyLink’s repeated 911 outage issues violates state law and/or commission rules.
In response, the company briefed the ACC on June 10 of its response and announced a Remedy Plan to address the ongoing 911 system problems as well as deficiencies with some of its facilities.
“The Remedy Plan’s key principles include identifying facilities needing repair, ensuring that appropriate and timely repairs are made, filing monthly reports and increasing employee and public awareness,” according to an ACC news release. “This includes keeping a log of all enclosures/facilities within its service territory statewide enclosures in need of repair.”
Among the issues cited in last month’s Order To Show Cause were numerous reports of 911 network failures in recent years, including one in Yuma just days before the Order was issued. The ACC also documented CenturyLink’s alleged “failure to respond in a timely manner” to complaints and its “inability at times to maintain its service, equipment and facilities” to ensure the health and safety of its customers.
“Nothing is more fundamental to a customer’s health and safety than the ability to call 911 to obtain emergency assistance,” the Order states.
The Show Cause Order also referred to a letter from Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry about a July 2019 outage that led to the failure of the county’s Next Generation 911 system and its backup system. The outage affected multiple public safety agencies, including the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and the Tucson Police Department which serve a combined one million residents.
“We find it unfathomable that both their primary and backup system failed,” wrote Huckelberry, who also expressed concern that CenturyLink provided “no clear answer” afterward as to why the outage occurred nor what steps could be taken to prevent future outages.
CenturyLink’s recently unveiled Remedy Plan includes a promise to meet regularly with Pima County officials to improve services. The company also agreed to work with the City of Page on resolving purported 911 service problems dating back two decades.
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Although Century Link’s plan calls for the repair of all identified facilities within 30 days, there could be delays due to permitting issues. The company has also pledged to provide the ACC with monthly status reports and to setup a reporting system for customers and the public to make it easier to advise the company of new issues with its services and facilities in Arizona.
In December 2018, dozens of 911 call centers on CenturyLink’s network went down in several states. The outages, some which lasted 37 hours, impacted metropolitan areas from Boston to Phoenix. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) later identified nearly 900 calls which could not be completed to 911.
At the time, FCC Director Ajit Pai issued a statement that the outage was “completely unacceptable, and its breadth and duration are particularly troubling.”
The December 2018 outage came on the heels of an August 2018 loss of 911 service in several states that eventually cost CenturyLink $400,000 in FCC fines.