Cyber Attack Disrupts Emergency Communications for Massachusetts Towns
A cyber attack discovered on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, has disrupted non-emergency and business phone lines for multiple public safety departments and the Patriot Regional Emergency Communications Center (PRECC), which serves towns in Massachusetts. Affected municipalities include Pepperell, Dunstable, Townsend, Ashby, and Groton, all of which reported outages in their police, fire, and EMS communications.
The 911 emergency system remains operational, and officials stated there is currently no evidence that private user data was compromised. PRECC, based in the Pepperell Police Department, coordinates emergency communications for the region.
Upon detecting the breach, local officials immediately engaged cybersecurity specialists, insurance providers, and state and federal law enforcement to investigate, contain the damage, and restore services. Townsend reported that its affected lines were briefly down but have since been restored, while other towns continue to experience disruptions.
Dunstable officials confirmed that their police and fire departments disabled all connections to PRECC upon learning of the breach and found no evidence that their own systems were compromised. However, their main office phone lines remain unavailable pending the investigation.
Groton Police posted on social media that their non-emergency and business lines were also down due to the attack, clarifying that the incident was not an April Fools’ prank. Pepperell and other towns have directed residents to an alternate non-emergency number (978-433-2671) while repairs are underway.
Authorities have not disclosed the origin or type of cyber attack. The incident remains under investigation as officials work with experts to mitigate the impact and restore full functionality.
Source: https://www.govtech.com/security/massachusetts-towns-impacted-by-emergency-comms-cyber-attack
Patriot EMS cybersecurity rating report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/patriot-ems
"id": "PAT1775169212",
"linkid": "patriot-ems",
"type": "Cyber Attack",
"date": "3/2026",
"severity": "100",
"impact": "5",
"explanation": "Attack threatening the organization's existence"{'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': 'Towns of Pepperell, Dunstable, '
'Townsend, Ashby, and Groton',
'industry': 'Public Safety',
'location': 'Pepperell, Massachusetts, USA',
'name': 'Patriot Regional Emergency Communications '
'Center (PRECC)',
'type': 'Emergency Communications Center'},
{'customers_affected': 'Residents and public safety '
'departments',
'industry': 'Government',
'location': 'Massachusetts, USA',
'name': 'Pepperell',
'type': 'Municipality'},
{'customers_affected': 'Residents and public safety '
'departments',
'industry': 'Government',
'location': 'Massachusetts, USA',
'name': 'Dunstable',
'type': 'Municipality'},
{'customers_affected': 'Residents and public safety '
'departments',
'industry': 'Government',
'location': 'Massachusetts, USA',
'name': 'Townsend',
'type': 'Municipality'},
{'customers_affected': 'Residents and public safety '
'departments',
'industry': 'Government',
'location': 'Massachusetts, USA',
'name': 'Ashby',
'type': 'Municipality'},
{'customers_affected': 'Residents and public safety '
'departments',
'industry': 'Government',
'location': 'Massachusetts, USA',
'name': 'Groton',
'type': 'Municipality'}],
'customer_advisories': 'Alternate non-emergency number provided '
'(978-433-2671), social media updates',
'data_breach': {'personally_identifiable_information': 'No evidence of '
'compromise'},
'date_detected': '2026-03-31',
'description': 'A cyber attack discovered on Tuesday, March 31, 2026, has '
'disrupted non-emergency and business phone lines for multiple '
'public safety departments and the Patriot Regional Emergency '
'Communications Center (PRECC), which serves towns in '
'Massachusetts. Affected municipalities include Pepperell, '
'Dunstable, Townsend, Ashby, and Groton, all of which reported '
'outages in their police, fire, and EMS communications. The '
'911 emergency system remains operational, and officials '
'stated there is currently no evidence that private user data '
'was compromised.',
'impact': {'data_compromised': 'No evidence of private user data compromise',
'downtime': 'Ongoing disruptions for some towns, restored for '
'Townsend',
'operational_impact': 'Disrupted non-emergency communications for '
'public safety departments',
'systems_affected': 'Non-emergency and business phone lines for '
'police, fire, and EMS communications'},
'investigation_status': 'Ongoing',
'references': [{'source': 'Incident Report'}],
'response': {'communication_strategy': 'Social media updates, alternate '
'non-emergency number provided',
'containment_measures': 'Disabled all connections to PRECC '
'(Dunstable), alternate non-emergency '
'number provided',
'incident_response_plan_activated': 'Yes',
'law_enforcement_notified': 'State and federal law enforcement',
'recovery_measures': 'Restoration of services underway',
'third_party_assistance': 'Cybersecurity specialists, insurance '
'providers'},
'title': 'Cyber Attack Disrupts Emergency Communications for Massachusetts '
'Towns',
'type': 'Cyber Attack'}