Cyberattack on Vehicle Breathalyzer Test Company Strands Drivers Across U.S.
Intoxalock issued assurances that company data remained safe. Apparently, the hackers overloaded the firm’s servers.
Last week, a Des Moines company called Intoxalock, which makes in‑car breathalyzer “ignition interlock” devices, was hit by a cyberattack that disrupted drivers in roughly 45 states.
At the time of this report’s preparation, there were no indications that service had been fully restored.
Since March 14, 2026, that’s been the reality for an estimated 150,000 drivers across 46 states. Not because they did anything wrong. Not because of a mechanical failure. Because Intoxalock — the company whose device the court system required them to install in their vehicles — got hit by a cyberattack, and their servers went offline.
And when Intoxalock’s servers go offline, the ignition interlock devices they make stop functioning. And when those devices stop functioning, the cars they’re wired into don’t start.
This is what happens when a court-ordered safety requirement depends on a vendor’s cloud connectivity, and nobody asked the hard questions about what happens when the vendor gets hacked.
Cyberattack Cause People Not to be Able to Start Their Cars. Intoxalock a breathalyzer ignition devices company had hackers overload its servers, but user data is safe.
People with a OWI charge use the devices have to provide a breath sample to prove they have not been drinking… pic.twitter.com/7cc3pIcAH7— American Crime Stories (@AmericanCrime01) March 20, 2026
The attack hit an important calibration function that needs to be done weekly. Cars have remained parked for over a week as a result of the breach.
Intoxalock spokesperson Rachael Larson confirmed to TechCrunch that the company had been hit by a cyberattack. Larson said the company took steps to “temporarily pause some of our systems as a precautionary measure.”
These breathalyzer devices need to be calibrated every few months or so, but the cyberattack has left Intoxalock unable to perform these calibrations. The company said customers whose devices require calibration may experience delays starting their vehicles.
Drivers posting on Reddit say that cars are unable to start if they miss a calibration, effectively locking drivers out of their vehicles.
According to local news reports across Maine, drivers are experiencing lockouts and some have been unable to start their vehicles. One auto shop in Middleboro told WCVB 5 in Boston that it has had cars parked in its lot all week due to the cyberattack.
A breathalyzer company is under a cybersecurity attack.
Those with previous D.W.I. convictions are unable to drive their cars. Intoxalock's security breach started on Saturday and drivers with a previous D.W.I. haven't gotten much information since.
It's a machine that around… pic.twitter.com/TNTQCLPzvZ
— CNY Central (@CNYCentral) March 19, 2026
The company issued assurances that its data remained safe. Apparently, the hackers overloaded the firm’s servers.
The company said that hackers are overloading its servers and are stopping them from working, WGME reported. But while the servers are being affected, the user data is safe, the company said. There was no word on a ransom, according to the television station.
Intoxalock has provided customers with updates on how it affects them.
The initial alert said that future installations would be paused through March 20 and that anyone with an appointment that had been scheduled to call the provider to reschedule.
If calibrations have been missed since the incident started on March 14, they should call Intoxalock Roadside Assistance at 844-226-7522 or if you have to use a different towing service, that cost can be reimbursed, but make sure you keep all documents.
The Intoxalock cyberattack should serve as a wake‑up call for policymakers and the justice system alike.
When government mandates depend on private vendors whose systems hinge on constant cloud connectivity, it’s only a matter of time before real people pay the price for someone else’s cybersecurity failure.
The next round of “smart” safety rules should include a backup plan that doesn’t leave 150,000 drivers stranded through no fault of their own.
This is a disturbing scenario for those of us who do not drive under the influence, too….as so many other essential items in our lives are now married to cyberspace.
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Just wait until AI takes over!!
I see a class action suit for disruption of earnings, car kidnapping etc. Maybe Intoxalot (deliberate) should install a failsafe mode.
For the record, I loathe drunk driver. Ever since “Submarine Ted” Kennedy.
Yea…. About that…
https://x.com/rduke0071/status/2036055308204724464/photo/1
Sometimes I do drink under the influence, but I never drive under the influence.😀
After a night on the town, I climbed into my borrowed Tesla and put it in self driving mode. I crashed anyway because this Model 3 had been drinking owing to self esteem issues.
Meh, it’s a temporary problem. When folks have this as part of their sentence or plea agreement there’s no expectation that it’s gonna work 100% of the time. It’s tech and tech goes down sometimes; could be a power issue due to severe storm/weather, could be a denial of.service attack, the jurisdiction might not have paid the bill for service on time, could be a denial of.service attack, a bad upgrade/patch. All sorts of implicit reasons tech doesn’t work and an interlock isn’t immune. Don’t get a DUI and you don’t have to worry about an interlock and the potential outages with the device.
I agree. The article says they didn’t do anything wrong and that’s not entirely true or they wouldn’t be in this situation.
Actually, this type of tech will be coming soon to all new vehicles, thanks to that feckless moron Joe Biden and his merry band of Marxist minions. Google “kill switch vehicle regulation.”
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA . . . snicker . . . snort . . .
That is all.
eot
Take the next step: Your so-called “smart home” features. A company’s cloud service goes down and you can no longer control your heating-A/C, your lights, your security system…
You’re right. One actually has to get up off their ass and control the thermostat by hand.
I have a pretty good amount of home automation. I’ve had servers go down in the past and it didn’t prevent me from doing things by hand. Now, none of my stuff is linked to outside servers. I use a home automation device called a habitat and all of my stuff is locally controlled. I got rid of all the Wi-Fi by remote stuff ages ago.
The exact reason I categorically refuse to install ANY so-called ‘smart’ appliance.
It’s a real asshole move to do this. No one is making money from this Denial Of Service attack; it’s just being done to be disruptive.
However, it has a real effect on those drivers. Imagine you are required to use one of these things, and your boss knows. You have to call the boss and swear up and down that you haven’t been drinking but that your device won’t let you start your car. Until you get a letter from the company or there’s a news story you can show your boss, your life is in a bad place.
Of course greedy people who hijack systems for money should go to Hell, but people who do things like this just for the schadenfreude should go to a particularly deep hot pit in Hell.
This is the 21st century, high-tech version of going down the street dragging a screwdriver down the sides of the parked cars, or smashing windows on a building just for the sake of it.
Is this your first time in society?
There are people everywhere that do things just because it brings misery to other people. They don’t profit from it or benefit from it. They just enjoy inflicting pain on others.
You are right. Sometimes I just find it hard to believe most of them were voted for.
What are you trying to say? That it isn’t an asshole move?
If caught the perpetrators should be hit for costs they imposed. Lost wages, cab/Uber fees and everything else. Hell seems a bit extreme as a punishment. I would be in favor of tying length of prison sentence to economic damages maybe every $50 = one day min in addition to whatever the base sentence is.
If you’re required to have one of these devices on your vehicle then you darn well better plan for when the device doesn’t work and doesn’t allow you to start and operate the vehicle. Especially if it depends on some cloudy server to operate. Because it’s not a matter of if problems will happen but just a matter of when those problems occur. Yeah, it sucks but there you go. Plan for the worst and you won’t get bit on the hind-end when they happen.
eot
so a dui person was not able to drive…hmmmmmmmmmm
Also affects anyone else trying to use the car – family, friends, mechanics, concierge services…
This is a good reason The Bride and I will hang on to our 2007 and 2012 cars for as long as we can keep them running. Neither is new enough to be on wireless internet so it’s practically impossible that they can be disabled by unknown people in an office somewhere. The worst that can happen is the satellite radio being shut down by SiriusXM, and being drunk driving ain’t gonna happen with us.
Do you like all those bells and whistles on your brand new car? It can be disabled remotely. Your independence is a steeper price to pay than the $$$ cost of buying it.
.
meanwhile waymo is driving down the street the wrong way
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/car-doing-video-shows-waymo-195936110.html
“… so many other essential items in our lives are now married to cyberspace.”
This is the most important lesson of this incident. For example, do you want to purchase a car which can be shut down by the government or a private company? I wonder how much longer we will have a choice.
I always say, “Technology will save us!” And if you’re not laughing, you didn’t get the joke. (But MRIs and other technologies are amazingly useful.) The good will get better, and the bad will get worse. The Beast is coming.
Don’t even get me started on electronic nanny crap in cars. Auto braking slams you into your seat if you back out of your garage too fast. Ask me how I know.
What will auto braking do when a semi gas tanker crosses the white line and is running straight towards you? Why it’ll slam on the brakes to be sure you get incinerated.
Lane keep will try and keep you in your lane when you’re trying to give a cop writing a moving violation some space. Lane doesn’t like you to move over.
So much crap so little useful help.
I can tell you from the experience of a family member that those things always malfunction. The nearest facility for fixing such malfunctions was 100 miles away. Requiring them on every vehicle means lots and lots of $$$$ for the makers and those who hold the contract for repairing and installing them.
“I’m ready to buy my smart gun now. Mr. DeMille.”
This is just a more pervasive version of the problem where you buy a piece of “non-subscription” software (“buy it once and run it forever”) but when your computer dies you can’t install it on your replacement computer because the company’s license servers are no longer online.
Yes. A gun is something you hope you will never need, but the one time in your life that you do need it you need as close to a 100% guarantee as is physically possible that it will work. “Smart guns” are not nearly there yet, and may never be.
Of course “dumb guns” aren’t 100% guaranteed either, but they’re damn close. If and when the error rate on “smart guns” gets down to the same level, then we can talk about them.
My proposal is to make hacking punishable by death, Yes the punishment would fit the crime.
I would also make telemarketing calls punishable by death. If the calls are made from India I would bomb the office building housing the center.
While I’m at it I would make any crime by a public official punishable by death too,
Want more? I can easily make up a whole list, Of course we are going to have to stream line execution. No more 20 years on death row,
why so mellow!!!???
You’ve Got a Little List, have you?
And they’d none of them be missed.