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911 Services Crippled in California Outages
22 Oct
Summary
- Multiple California regions experienced 911 service disruptions on Thursday.
- Oakland, Riverside, and Santa Barbara reported significant emergency service failures.
- The cause of the widespread outages remains unclear, with no confirmed link to 'Black October'.
Emergency 911 services faced significant disruptions across multiple California locations on Thursday. Oakland reported its Computer-Aided Dispatch system froze, necessitating the transfer of all 911 calls to the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, with only Priority One calls being handled.
In Santa Barbara County, AT&T and T-Mobile customers experienced 911 outages, prompting the local police department to provide a direct dispatch number for emergencies. Riverside County also reported that some cellular users were unable to reach 911, with officials confirming ongoing issues but stating the service was not completely out.
The cause of these widespread outages remains uncertain. It is unclear if these disruptions are related to the recently discovered PHP vulnerabilities associated with 'Black October,' though cybersecurity experts have noted millions of exploitation attempts.
Authorities are strongly advising residents not to call 911 or alternative emergency numbers to test the service. They emphasize that even unsuccessful calls can tie up dispatchers, diverting critical time from genuine emergencies. The situation highlights the fragility of modern communication systems.
