Feds say cyberattack caused suicide helpline’s outage

By AMANDA SEITZ
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — A cyberattack caused a nearly daylong outage of the nation’s new 988 mental health helpline late last year, federal officials tell The Associated Press. Lawmakers are now calling for the federal agency that oversees the program to prevent future attacks. The attack occurred on the network for Intrado, the company that provides telecommunications services for the helpline. The agency did not disclose details about who it believes launched the attack or what kind of cyberattack occurred. Those who tried on Dec. 1 to reach the line for help with suicidal or depressive thoughts were instead greeted with a message that said the line is “experiencing a service outage.”