Cyber Incident Victim: Patriot Regional Emergency Communications Center
Date:
Mar 2026
Location:
United States of America
Summary
A cyberattack disrupted the Patriot Regional Emergency Communications Center, affecting phone and public safety systems in the Massachusetts towns of Ashby, Dunstable, Pepperell, Townsend and Groton. While emergency responders continued to take calls and the 911 system remained operational, officials enlisted insurance providers, cybersecurity experts and state and federal law enforcement to assess the scope and mitigate the impact, noting that no private user information had been confirmed as compromised.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 0 motives | 0 techniques |
| Threat Actors | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 0 actors | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On early Tuesday, officials identified a cyberattack affecting the Patriot Regional Emergency Communications Center, which serves several Massachusetts towns. The attack disrupted phone and public safety systems in Ashby, Dunstable, Pepperell and Townsend, with police and fire departments experiencing impacts to varying degrees. Although Groton is also served by the regional center, its social media alerts about unavailable business lines did not explicitly reference a cyberattack. Despite the incident, the 911 phone system continued to operate normally and first responders remained able to answer emergency calls.
In response, the affected towns contacted their insurance providers, engaged reputable outside cybersecurity agencies, and sought assistance from state and federal law enforcement agencies. Pepperell Town Administrator Andrew MacLean stated that the town had immediately engaged its insurance provider and cybersecurity partners to respond to and mitigate the attack, emphasizing a commitment to keep the public informed under professional guidance. Similar statements from Pepperell and Townsend noted that there was no evidence that private user information had been shared as a result of the breach. Dunstable officials reported that there was no evidence indicating any systems owned or managed by the town were directly affected by the hack.
The Patriot Regional Emergency Communications Center is located in Pepperell, and officials said they are working with insurance providers, cybersecurity specialists and law enforcement to determine the scope of any compromised data. They reiterated that the 911 phone system continues to operate normally and that there is no evidence private user information has been shared. Groton’s police department posted social media alerts indicating that business lines for those departments were unavailable, although those posts did not specifically reference a cyberattack. No additional details about the attacker’s identity, methods or potential data loss have been made public in the statements released.