PORT HADLOCK — Jefferson County officials suspect that the software virus Zotob affected computer systems serving emergency and county services for about 10 hours on Friday.
Jeffcom 9-1-1 dispatchers reported that their computer system failed at 12:45 p.m. Friday, preventing access to law enforcement information, such as arrest warrants and driving records.
The glitch also affected eight dispatch communication lines, reducing the number of available 9-1-1 lines from four to three.
“We were forced to activate the emergency operations center,” said Daphne Kilburn, Jefferson County Department of Emergency Management public information officer.
The emergency operations center required use of the backup 9-1-1 system at the Port Townsend Fire Department, which has three 9-1-1 lines instead of the Dispatch Center’s four 9-1-1 lines and four communications line in Port Hadlock.
County emergency dispatchers worked with the three available 9-1-1 phone lines and there were no reports of people not being able to contact 9-1-1 during an emergency.
