Driven by the increase in work place and school violence, the omni-present threat of terrorism and the large number of natural disasters, the last decade saw vast improvements in emergency communication and safety technology.

A new self-assessment tool is available to 911 authorities and emergency communication centers (ECC) and public safety answering points (PSAP) administrators and oversight personnel. 

Over a four-day period in June 20 years ago, hackers simulated an attack on the power grids and 911 emergency systems in eight U.S. cities and then infiltrated and took control of U.S. Pacific Command computers.