Cyberattack leaves drivers with breathalyzer systems unable to start vehicles
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Cyberattack leaves Maine drivers with breathalyzer test systems unable to start vehicles Skip to main content Close Download the App Get your news faster with our mobile experience Install Now 42 ° Sun 36 ° Mon 35 ° Search Search User Icon Watch facebook icon twitter icon ACCESSIBILITY Cyberattack leaves Maine drivers with breathalyzer test systems unable to start vehicles by Brad Rogers , WGME Wed, March 18, 2026 at 7:20 PM Updated Thu, March 19, 2026 at 11:44 AM A cyberattack has shut down a nationwide breathalyzer test system found in vehicles of OUI offenders, impacting thousands of drivers in Maine and 45 other states. (Viewer photo) Comment on this story 10 Comment Share story Share topics: Cyberattack Intoxalock Breathalyzer Ignition interlock Maine OUI offenders Vehicle startup Cybersecurity PORTLAND (WGME)-- A cyberattack has shut down a nationwide breathalyzer test system found in vehicles of OUI offenders, impacting thousands of drivers in Maine and 45 other states. Intoxalock is the company targeted by the attack. Once the device is installed, drivers have to pass a breathalyzer test before they can start their vehicle. It won't start if your blood alcohol is .02 or higher. But since the cyber breach shut its entire system down on Saturday, anyone with one of the devices cannot start their car. One Mainer with an Intoxalock device says he got an OUI and is required by the court to have one. "Anybody that's locked out has remained locked out. There's people that haven't been able to drive since Saturday, if that's their only vehicle," he said. Also read: City agrees to 'joint plan of action in the future' to help Lewiston mass shooting victims CBS13 had been unable to reach the company. When you call, you get a recorded message. "Intoxalock is investigating a cybersecurity event that was recently identified and impairing our ability to service customers." "Sunday evening, the company put out a notification that they'd been cyber-attacked," a Mainer with an Intoxalock device said. In online messages, Intoxalock says hackers are flooding its servers to stop them from functioning, and that the nationwide outage has affected installations, removals, calibrations and account access. The company says despite the attack, user data is secure, but it did not say if there was a ransom demand. One driver in Maine works from home and his wife has a car, so he doesn't need his truck to get to work. "I'm really lucky. A lot of other people are not so lucky," he said. "There's some people who live out in the country that don't have access to public transportation that are just totally up the creek." Also read: Skowhegan man charged with murder in Augusta shooting death Intoxalock says they are working as quickly as possible to resolve this issue and get these devices working again. However, if you have one of these installed in your car, you can't start it or drive it. The Secretary of State's Office oversees Maine's Ignition Interlock Device Program. The Deputy Secretary of State says they are aware of the issue and are in contact with the company. The Deputy Secretary says anyone wishing to replace their device can find a list of vendors and installation sites in Maine on the BMV website. On Thursday, Intoxalock responded to CBS13, saying their devices are fully operational, and customers should continue to use them as intended. The company says service centers were able to implement a 10-day service extension. In a statement, Intoxalock said: "Intoxalock will be covering costs that are a direct result of the temporary system pause. Please note that this does not include charges for the calibration required after the extension, as that calibration would occur as part of the standard process. Our primary focus continues to be supporting our customers. We are sorry for the inconvenience this has caused and are working diligently to resume our systems, and are fully committed to supporting our customers throughout this process. To that end, our staff, including our dedicated customer support teams, have increased hours to support our customers while we work to expedite the resumption of our systems." Comment with Bubbles JOIN THE CONVERSATION (10) For updates on Intoxalock's progress dealing with this cyberattack, go to learn.intoxalock.com/status . You can also text (424) 724-4689 for urgent service inquiries. Trending Lewiston woman charged with murder in early morning shooting death Lewiston officials say Maine State Police are taking over the investigation. Augusta home care workers say they went unpaid for weeks before company shut down Home health care workers in Augusta say they were told their business was shutting down effective immediately after weeks of not being paid. 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