UPDATED: Rogers outage caused by a cyber attack?

For hapless Canucks, Friday the 8th turned out to be even more distressing than Friday the 13th. The "Please stand by" graphic Ed. posted on the 7th turned out to be oddly premonitory, as Canadians struggled to cope with a massive disruption of mobile and internet "service" provided by Rogers (aka "Robbers") Communications.

Canada's telecoms market is dominated by just three "service providers". [You understand why Walt is using quote marks, right? Ed.] -- Bell, Rogers and Telus. Knocking out their networks disrupts not just mobile phone calls, but money transfers (Interac, using debit cards), data exchange (problems for airlines, pharmacies, banks, etc), wi-fi (disastrous for those working from home) and even 9-1-1 service. 

But that's what happened yesterday, as Robbers customers  found themselves unconnected for most of the day. Last night, the company said it had restored mobile and internet service for the "vast majority: of its customers. However, it added, some customers may experience delays in regaining full service as its network comes back online and traffic volumes return to normal. 

In a statement posted to the company's social media channels (which customers of other telecoms companies could read, one presumes), Rogers apologized for the disruption the outage has caused to its customers and said it "will be proactively crediting" all customers. Which means: don't call us asking for a refund, we're already doing it. 

Tony Staffieri, CEO of Rogers, said in an open letter that the company apologizes for the service interruption but offered no explanation for the outage or how many customers were affected. Staffieri says Rogers "is committed to understanding the cause and would make changes to meet and exceed expectations in the future."

As of this morning, Rogers still hasn't said what caused their service to go down. Mr Staffieri said they would investigate "the root cause of this outage." Walt humbly suggests they read "FBI director calls China 'biggest' US threat; authorities warn of North Korean cyber attacks", posted on ABC News on July 6th.

The story quotes FBI Director Christopher Wray as saying the Chinese government (not those nice Chinese people, especially immigrants) is set on stealing our technology. Speaking alongside his British counterpart in London on Wednesday, Mr Wray called China the "biggest long-term threat" to both the US and the UK. (He didn't mention Canada because, no matter what Justin Trudeau says, Canada's not important.) 

"The Chinese government is set on stealing your technology -- whatever it is that makes your industry tick -- and using it to undercut your business and dominate your market," said Mr Wray, adding, "They're set on using every tool at their disposal to do it." 

Canada's telecoms, including Rogers, already use Huawei equipment, although M Trudeau (a great admirer of the ChiComms' ability "to get things done") now says they won't be allowing any new Huawei 5-G technology to be used in Canadian networks. Is it possible the Chinese (or North Koreans) hacked the Rogers network as a test, to see how easy it would be to throw a country into confusion and chaos? Just askin'....

UPDATE ADDED 10/7/22: Rogers Communications Inc. says it believes the massive system outage it suffered on Friday occurred after a maintenance update to its core network, but critics are unimpressed with the explanation after the telecom’s second major service interruption in two years.

This critic -- yr obdt svt -- wonders if Rogers would say anything different, if the massive outage had indeed been caused by hackers working for a hostile foreign government, which they (Rogers) did  not expect and could not control. Given the panic that would likely have ensured had they admitted such a huge security breach, would they not have said, "Oopsy. Our problem. We fixed it. Nothing to see here." Just askin'....

10 worst 9-1-1 calls of 2014

The year-end wouldn't complete without a list of some kind: best this, worst that, top ten the other. Walt has been making a list [and checking it twice? Ed.] but hesitates to publish it for fear of offending someone and being hailed in front of a human rights tribunal or the Legion of Decency.

As a substitute, and in keeping with the tradition, we present the 10 worst 9-1-1 calls of 2014, as compiled by E-Comm, the largest 9-1-1 call centre in British Columbia, and published by CBC News. In Letterman order, here they are:

10. "What's the date today?"

9. Home internet isn't working.

8. Wants help finding lost glasses.

7. Food they ordered is cold.

6. "Is today a stat holiday?"

5. "Can you call a taxi for me?"

4. "What's the number for my travel agency?"

3. Pizza not fresh; wants a replacement slice.

2. "What's the fine for jaywalking?"

1. Wi-fi at a local coffee shop isn't working!

These aren't as far-fetched as you might think. Long ago, before there was 9-1-1, I used to get calls like these from my sister-in-law! And what ever happened to 4-1-1? "Information" operators used to keep lists of stupid questions they got asked every day!

Walt's Agents 1 and 78, both of whom have manned ["personned", surely. Ed.] information desks, have similar lists. One day I'm going to put them all in a book. People will have to call 9-1-1 to find out where to get it.

Footnote: Readers in the UK are advised to dial 9-9-9 for answers to their stupid questions. People wishing to call the Springfield Police Department should call 9-1-2.

9-1-1? Help! My dog licked me!

Whaddya do when something -- anything -- goes wrong? Why, call 9-1-1 of course! What if my dog, with his horrible doggy breath and wet doggy tongue, licks my face? That's right! Call 9-1-1-!

Must have been a slow news day yesterday, because CBC News made space and time for a story about people tying up the 9-1-1 emergency call service with pocket dials and calls that are just plain stupid.

The Emergency Management Office of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia [It figures. Ed.] says 20% of all 9-1-1 calls are pocket dials -- when you sit on your phone and your buttock presses the speed dial number -- or other non-emergencies. Said dispatcher Michelle Burhoe, "It makes it a little more difficult for us to concentrate on one task at a time because we're constantly stopping to answer the 911 calls when they're pocket dials."

The pocket dials cause trouble because the operator has to stay on the line until she/he can confirm that the call really isn't an emergency, which means that the caller has to pick up the phone and fess up. If the caller can't or won't talk to the dispatcher, police must respond, which is annoying for all concerned and costly to taxpayers.

Bogus emergencies are a problem too. Ms Burhoe recounts an incident in which "We had a 911 call from a man who wasn't sure if he needed medical attention because he was licked by a puppy. We [also] had a little boy call because he was terrified of a spider."

Constable Pierre Bourdage of Halifax Regional Police said officers were called to 5,300 misdialed 9-1-1 calls in 2013. "A police officer will give you a little warning," he said, "and sometimes it's a child, or the phone was knocked over. But we do have to check that everyone is safe and no one is in danger."

Bogus calls can attract a hefty fine. If you do misdial, Walt advises you to stay on the line to tell them, so police aren’t dispatched. If you're embarrassed, just say you meant to dial 9-1-2. You're welcome.

Further reading: When your dog licks your face, is he/she/it actually giving you a kiss? See Dog licking your face and what it means