From DNR to DMV, online outages ravage Minnesota government systems
ST. PAUL, Minn. — As a global computer systems outage hit millions across the United States, government agencies in Minnesota are also feeling the impact.
Around 12:30 a.m., Hennepin County Emergency Communications Manager Tony Martin says he got the call that the county's 911 services were unable to use crucial computer programs.
"The world is our technology now, and there's so much of it. You don't realize how reliant on a program you are to that scope," Martin said Friday.
Dispatchers had to resort to using pen and paper to take down call details, then use a radio to call in emergency services.
"Our dispatch staff, instead of typing it into a computer, they're taking it down on pen and paper," Martin said. "It's getting used to that. We trial that, we never want to get to it, but we do have obviously our backups in place in the event something like this happens."
That process lasted for nearly five hours until some systems were able to come back online. Martin says despite this, 911 calls still went through as needed.
Social Security offices were not able to find a workaround, however. Closed statewide, signs posted on doors instructed people to call in – but warned call times would be delayed.
"You need social security to be open. You need human services to be open. You need these places right now," said Linda Fleming of Coon Rapids. "It's interfering with everything. It's interfering with communication as far as family is concerned, as far as the hospital is concerned, just, everything. It's interfering with everything."
Minnesota Information Technology said Friday afternoon that it was "actively working" to deploy a fix provided by CrowdStrike, to restore state agency services. MNIT was not able to provide a timetable for that process.
Across the state, other agencies plagued with outages include the Department of Public Safety, whose website is down entirely, Department of Natural Resources whose reservation system is down and the Department of Vehicle Services, who without computers, cannot offer written exams.