“The Government Accountability Office wants the Department of Homeland Security to work with the departments of Commerce, Justice, and Transportation and the Federal Communications Commission to ensure next-generation, IP-based 911 emergency response systems are not vulnerable to cyberattack.
The Next-Generation 911(NG 911) technology that local Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) are installing in towns and cities across the nation relies heavily on IP and cloud-based technologies to handle emergency calls from the public, GAO noted in a report released Jan. 28. The next-generation technologies carry photos and other data-heavy packages such as building blueprints and maps to help emergency responders do their jobs, which also can make systems more vulnerable to cyberattack, GAO said.”
