AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Officials say they've traced what led to issues with 911 systems across much of Central Texas on Sunday.
The Capital Area Council of Governments, or CAPCOG, says a telephony denial of service attack was used to intentionally overload 911 systems across the region.
CAPCOG provides infrastructure services to law enforcement and other public safety dispatchers spread across 31 public safety answering points across its 10 county area. Officials said the problems began in Round Rock, but ended up affecting at least 21 different agencies across the region.
A TDoS attack, much like a denial of service attack on the internet, floods a target - in this case, a 911 public safety answering point - with thousands of inbound calls in an effort to disrupt service. The calls are easily automated, making it easy and inexpensive for the attacker.
City of Austin officials had said the impacts ranged from audio issues with calls, missing location identifiers, and calls being routed to other jurisdictions.
CAPCOG said normal operations were restored around 8 p.m. Sunday night, with assistance from telecommunications provider AT&T. Officials say they'll work with the company to try and prevent a repeat attack.
