The failure of the emergency numbers 110 and 112 was apparently caused by a technical error. The cause of the disruption is presumably the introduction of new software that had previously been extensively tested and that did not show any abnormalities, said Telekom heise online.
The detailed analysis continues. Telekom is currently ruling out a cyber attack. Telekom is responsible for the emergency call infrastructure.
Early in the morning at 4.30 a.m. during routine maintenance work, the disruption of the accessibility of the emergency call control centers in various regions of Germany occurred. Police, fire brigade and rescue services could not be reached via 110 and 112. At 5.40 a.m., all control centers were again fully accessible, said Telekom.
Telekom reports to the BSI
Telekom reported the disruption to the BSI and the Federal Network Agency in accordance with the statutory provisions. In the current BSI management report, it is generally stated that in the area of information technology and telecommunications “deficiencies in the areas of technical information security, personnel and organizational security and checks during operation were identified comparatively often”.
The emergency number 112 has been free of charge throughout the EU for emergency calls to the police, fire brigade and ambulance since 2003. In the meantime, this number also works in numerous other countries as long as an emergency call center has been set up in the region. Outside the EU, this is partially limited to calls from (certain) cell phone networks.
(anw)
