SAFECOM and NCSWIC Develop Considerations for Cyber Disruptions in an Evolving 911 Environment

As CISA celebrates National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week (NPSTW) and Emergency Communications Month, we want to recognize public safety telecommunicators across the nation. We thank you for your commitment and service to public safety. In honor of NPSTW, we are pleased to announce the release of the Considerations for Cyber Disruptions in an Evolving 911 Environment document.

Emergency Communications Centers (ECCs) across the nation are in various phases of transition from older, legacy systems to NG911. The increased connectivity of NG911 provides new vectors for threats that can disrupt ECC operations. ECCs can experience cyber incidents as a result of malicious actors or even an errant software update to a managed service provider’s network. ECCs should ensure their Continuity of Operations (COOP) plans outline processes and procedures for responding to cyber incidents, regardless of the cause.

CISA, SAFECOM, and the National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators (NCSWIC) developed the Considerations for Cyber Disruptions in an Evolving 911 Environmentdocument to help ECCs develop or update their COOP plans to better respond to cyber incidents as they transition to NG911. The document discusses the various threat vectors for NG911 systems and provides considerations for updating COOP plans, such as identifying alternate ECCs, maintaining data, and engaging with partners. The document also includes helpful resources and a checklist of considerations.

Stakeholders are encouraged to share this document with their colleagues. For questions about the document, please contact ng911wg@cisa.dhs.gov or visit cisa.gov/safecom/next-generation-911 for additional SAFECOM and NCSWIC NG911 resources.

We encourage you to join CISA in celebrating NPSTW and Emergency Communications Month. We will be sharing a number of resources throughout the month to recognize our nation’s public safety and emergency communications community. You can also follow CISA on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.