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A firewall meant to bolster cybersecurity is being blamed for causing a two-hour disruption of Massachusetts’ 911 system.
The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said in a statement that a preliminary investigation carried out by its 911 Department and vendor Comtech « determined that the outage was the result of a firewall, a safety feature that provides protection against cyberattacks and hacking. »
« The firewall prevented calls from getting to the 911 dispatch centers » and « Comtech’s initial review of the incident has confirmed that the interruption was not the result of a cyberattack or hack, » the office said.
« However, the exact reason the firewall stopped calls from reaching dispatch centers remains under review, » it added.
MASSACHUSETTS 911 EMERGENCY SYSTEM RESTORED HOURS AFTER OUTAGE, OFFICIALS SAY
![Massachusetts 911 outage](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxbusiness.com/foxbusiness.com/content/uploads/2024/06/931/523/Massachusetts-911.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Fire call boxes continued to function during the Massachusetts statewide 911 system outage on Tuesday. One is shown here in Somerville. (Brian Snyder/Reuters / Reuters)
Comtech did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday from FOX Business.
« As the full review of the cause continues, Comtech has advised State 911 that they have applied a technical solution to ensure that this does not happen again, » the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said, without elaborating.
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![Ambulance in Boston, Massachusetts](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxbusiness.com/foxbusiness.com/content/uploads/2024/06/931/523/Boston-ambulance.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
A Boston EMS ambulance heads away from Boston Medical Center in June 2023. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security said Wednesday that it has « has not received any reports of emergencies impacted during the interruption » of t (Pat Greenhouse/The Boston Globe via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Executive Director of the State 911 Department Frank Pozniak said Wednesday that his staff is « deeply committed to providing reliable, state-of-the-art 911 services to all Massachusetts residents and visitors in an emergency. »
« The Department will take all necessary steps to prevent a future occurrence, » he also said. « We are grateful to everyone for their patience and cooperation during the outage. »
![911 call center in Malden, Massachusetts](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxbusiness.com/foxbusiness.com/content/uploads/2024/06/931/523/Massachusetts-911-call-center.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Emergency medical dispatchers coordinate ambulances in Malden, Massachusetts, in April 2020. (David Degner/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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The system first went down around 1:15 p.m. local time on Tuesday, before being restored around 3:15 p.m.