The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has a new fact sheet to educate the public-safety community on telephony denial of service attacks (TDoS) threats.

TDoS attacks present a unique risk to public-safety communications stakeholders, including emergency communications centers (ECCs), public-safety answering points (PSAPs), and other 9-1-1 dispatch centers. TDoS events overload communications networks with telephone calls, disrupting a jurisdiction’s ability to provide emergency response services.

Public-safety agencies can use this document to educate their personnel on the dangers of  TDoS threats and mitigation best practices. Specifically, “Cyber Risks To 9-1-1: Telephony Denial Of Service” overviews common TDoS attack vectors, including mobile phones, botnets, VoIP services, compromised private branch exchanges, preprogrammed landline phones, and variable security standards.

The fact sheet also highlights real-world TDoS incidents and impacts, as well as provides best practices to mitigate TDoS vulnerabilities.

CISA developed the fact sheet in coordination with public-safety stakeholders and cybersecurity subject matter experts to ensure the best practices support the public-safety operations environment. The fact sheet is here.

For more information about these documents or TDoS threats, visit CISA’s Next-Generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1) resource page here.