Tina Ward got a DWI in 2010. She did what the court required: installed a breathalyzer interlock in her car, blew into it every time she drove, kept her record clean for years. Now she can’t get to her medical appointments. Not because she’s been drinking. Because a company got hacked.

Intoxalock, the Des Moines-based company that manufactures ignition interlock devices for drivers with DUI convictions, has been offline since March 16 after what it describes as a cyberattack that overwhelmed its servers. The outage has knocked out installations, removals, calibrations, and account access across 46 states, according to the company’s own status page.

The devices require periodic calibration — roughly every two months — and lock out the vehicle when that window expires. With Intoxalock’s systems down, thousands of sober, law-abiding drivers are stranded. Rural residents without alternative transportation have been hit hardest.

Intoxalock says user data is safe and has promised to reimburse towing costs. It has not confirmed whether the attack involved ransomware or whether a ransom demand was made. The company serves approximately 150,000 drivers annually.

State officials in Maine have directed affected drivers to explore alternative approved vendors through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. New York’s Department of Criminal Justice Services was notified of the breach on March 18. Neither state has indicated whether missed calibrations during the outage will count against drivers in court.

That’s the quiet part of this story. These devices exist as a condition of legal compliance. When the single private company running the infrastructure goes dark, the people who did everything right are the ones who pay.

Intoxalock has not provided a timeline for restoring service.

Sources