IT IS A FELONY OFFENSE IN MISSOURI
A growing epidemic of criminal attacks on critical infrastructure is plaguing telecommunications companies across the country and those companies indicate their impact is nothing short of domestic terrorism, putting both national security and public safety at risk.
In Missouri, Spectrum has suffered a 200% year-over-year increase in felony attacks on its network through July of 2025, severing connectivity and impacting redundancy not only to homes and businesses, but to emergency services as well.
“Our teams work tirelessly to provide the highest level of service and reliability to our customers and these felony, criminal attacks cause outages that go far beyond the inconvenience of lost connectivity,” said Tom Monaghan, executive vice president of field operations for Charter.
“The impact is that of domestic terrorism, cutting off access to critical services, preventing vital communications during times of emergency and crisis, creating a pervasive and persistent threat to families and businesses in Missouri and across the country. This criminal activity must not be allowed to continue. We need the continued support of law enforcement, an increased commitment to prosecuting the criminals behind these attacks and help from the public by reporting suspicious activity when they see it.”
Emergency services, emergency dispatch and 911 communication services, local fire and police departments, federal agencies, financial institutions, court buildings, healthcare facilities and hospitals, educational institutions, as well as cell towers providing mobile services, have all been impacted by one or more of the 148 outages recorded just by Spectrum in Missouri this year.
The collective disruption of these fiber cuts is comparable to that of a June 15 attack in Van Nuys, California, which Charter also called domestic terrorism due to the nature of the cuts, extent of damage and makeup of impacted customers.
“These attacks are more than mere acts of vandalism; they are disrupting access to critical emergency services and creating potentially life-threatening situations,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the St. Louis Field Office. “Combating this threat requires a coordinated effort, and we urge the public to report any suspicious activity to law enforcement. Together, we can help bring those responsible for endangering public safety to justice.”
These crimes are part of an escalating pattern of critical infrastructure attacks impacting telecommunications providers across the country. Between June-December 2024, the collective industry suffered nearly 6,000 intentional incidents of critical communications infrastructure attacks putting access to life-saving public resources at risk.
Thus far, 28 states – including Missouri – have passed legislation (11 this year), making these attacks on critical communications infrastructure a felony offense.
However, more support is needed both in those states yet to act and in Congress, which needs to make attacks on critical infrastructure a felony crime across the country.
Spectrum says as these criminals are found and arrested it is vital that they are prosecuted fully for their crimes that put the public and the country in danger. Stricter penalties are a necessary deterrent to this growing problem.
“Safeguarding our communications infrastructure is vital for creating safe, resilient communities, and Spectrum is calling on everyone to stay alert, take proactive measures, and swiftly report any incidents related to this widespread issue,” the company said in a press release.
To thwart this growing threat, Spectrum is offering a reward of up to $25,000 for information related to these criminal infrastructure attacks that lead to an arrest.
Anyone with information can contact Spectrum at 833-404-TIPS (8477) or reach out to local law enforcement.
