On December 1st, the 988 Lifeline, a mental health helpline, experienced a cyberattack that caused a near daylong outage. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has not revealed who was behind the attack or what type of cyberattack occurred. Intrado, the company that provides telecommunications services for the helpline, is working with a third-party assessor to investigate the incident and law enforcement agencies have been notified. The 988 number, which can be reached by text, chat or voice calling, has become a lifeline for millions of Americans seeking help during a mental crisis. Those who tried to call the line on Dec. 1 were met with a message that said the line was experiencing a service outage. Text and chat services remained available. The Federal Communications Commission is investigating the outage and Intrado is working to restore service. In response to the incident, Rep. Tony Cárdenas and Rep. Jay Obernolte, both of California, have introduced a bill calling for better coordination and reporting around cyberattacks on the 988 system. Obernolte said that even a few hours of outage of the national suicide hotline can cost American lives and it is critical that steps are taken to mitigate the risks of future disruptions to the service.
This Cyber News was published on www.securityweek.com. Publication date: Sat, 04 Feb 2023 19:10:02 +0000