Authorities are investigating interference with police radio communications, websites and networks used by law enforcement and other officials during recent U.S. protests over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
Although the efforts to disrupt police radios and take down websites in Minnesota, Illinois and Texas aren’t considered technically difficult hacks, federal intelligence officials warned that law enforcement should be ready for such tactics as protests continue.
Authorities have not yet identified anyone responsible or provided details about how the disruptions were carried out. But officials were particularly concerned by interruptions to police radio frequencies during the last weekend of May as dispatchers tried to direct responses to large protests and unrest that overshadowed peaceful demonstrations.
During protests in Dallas on May 31, someone gained access to the police department’s unencrypted radio frequency and disrupted officers’ communications by playing music over their radios, according to a June 1 intelligence assessment from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
N.W.A.’s iconic song that disparages the police can be heard playing amid police radio chatter from the day, according to recordings from Broadcastify, which archives public safety radio feeds. Dallas police did not respond to questions about the incident.
The assessment, which was obtained by The Associated Press, attributes the Dallas disruption to “unknown actors” and does not say how they accessed the radio frequency. It warned that attacks of various types would likely persist.
“Short-term disruptive cyber activities related to protests probably will continue — various actors could be carrying out these operations — with the potential to use more impactful capabilities, like ransomware, or target higher profile networks,” the assessment warns.
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