On Thursday, February 22, 2024, a massive cellular phone service outage hit thousands of users across the United States, affecting all major telecoms, including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, USCellular, Cricket Wireless, and Boost Mobile.
The outage disrupted calls, text messages, and emergency services in major cities, including San Francisco, and lasted for at least five hours.
The supposed nationwide outage has raised concerns about the reliability of telecommunications infrastructure and its resilience in the face of unexpected disruptions. While there is no official confirmation of a cyberattack, the possibility of a major hack cannot be ruled out.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has announced that it will investigate the incident, and the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is working closely with AT&T to understand the cause of the outage and offer any assistance needed.
The outage affected more than 73,000 incidents around 8:15 a.m. ET, and reports suggest that the disruption was caused by a cyberattack on the telecoms’ infrastructure. The suspicion of a cyberattack has sparked concerns about the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to cyber threats and the need for stronger cybersecurity measures to protect against such attacks.
In conclusion, the nationwide telecoms downtime has raised serious concerns about the reliability and security of telecommunications infrastructure in the United States. The possibility of a major cyberattack underscores the need for stronger cybersecurity measures to protect against such threats and ensure the resilience of critical infrastructure.