Thousands of drivers across the US are stranded after a cyberattack knocked systems offline at Intoxalock, the safety technology company behind court-ordered ignition interlock devices that require users to blow into a breathalyzer before starting their cars.
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Drivers across 46 states say the Intoxalock hack has left them stranded, with their cars unable to start.
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The outage has disrupted installations, calibrations, account access, and other court-ordered interlock services.
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Intoxalock says it will waive fees tied to the incident and allow a 10-day extension while systems are restored.
From Maine to California, multiple drivers using the installed devices say they haven’t been able to start their cars ever since the March 14th attack incapacitated the leading breathalyzer monitoring platform.
The delays are specifically tied to those “interlock devices requiring calibrations,” an Intoxalock spokesperson told Cybernews on Friday, adding that the devices themselves remain “fully operational and that customers should continue to use them as normal.“
“On March 14, Intoxalock experienced a cyber event that caused us to temporarily pause some of our systems as a precaution. Our team took immediate action to secure our network and protect the integrity of our systems and data,” it said.
Intoxalock says calibration systems – not devices – were impacted
“Systems are Currently Experiencing Downtime,” a banner splashed across Intoxalock’s website states. The company has posted several updates on its Intoxalock Status Center since first disclosing the breach to customers on social media on March 16th.
Headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, Intoxalock developed the first alcohol-specific fuel cell technology in 1992, and now serves more than 150,000 customers annually across 46 states.
The company, which says it also provides interlock devices and monitoring tech to families of first-time teenage drivers, is affiliated with 5,500 installation stations nationwide.
“Customers who were required to calibrate their device were impacted due to the system that the calibration process is connected to. It is an advanced calibration system. This group did experience a delay in starting their vehicle, and we have created a solution for this in the vast majority of states.”
– Intoxalock spokesperson, March 20, 2026
Although the updates do not provide much detail about the actual attack, Cybernews reached out to the company on Friday and was told by an Intoxalock spokesperson that more information would be provided.
The company later said that for customers requiring calibrations, Intoxalock “developed a new system app that was pushed to all of our calibration devices while coordinating with state regulators to provide a temporary solution while we work to resume our systems.”
“We are continuing to look into the recent event. Our team is fully committed to reaching a resolution as quickly as possible,” Intoxalock said.
Drivers vent as outage disrupts compliance and towing
Ignition interlock devices (IID) – otherwise known as a car breathalyzer – are small devices installed in a car to prevent a person from drinking and driving. The person is required to blow into the device so it can check their Breath Alcohol Content (BrAC) before allowing the car to start.
Thousands of unhappy Intoxalock users have been forced to tow their undrivable vehicles to official interlock service stations, with many taking to Facebook to express their frustration, wanting to know if they will be reimbursed for the hundreds of dollars in out-of-pocket costs.
Many are also justifiably worried about how the unforeseen disruption may affect their court-ordered compliance.
Customers of the devices – which cost about $150 to install and another $60 to $90 per month to lease – have been quoted by local news outlets across the Northeast, from Minnesota to New Hampshire.
“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,” according to a report by CBS 13 News of Portland, Maine.
“On March 18, Intoxalock, in those states that allowed for this, was able to issue 10-day service extensions for calibrations,” the company told Cybernews.
Baldwin Electronics in Texas, an Intoxalock installation center questioned why the tech company “was not communicating with the SERVICE CENTERS Directly?”
“We need to know what’s going on. We’re the front line with YOUR clients. This is very inconvenient to the customers. What do we tell them regarding towing or lockout related expenses?” the installers asked.
“I got locked out. It was malfunctioning. Yall better not charge me for this bs,” said another customer in Arizona.
The company responded directly on Facebook, “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused. We are working with your state monitoring authority to minimize the impact on your compliance requirements.”
“In the meantime, we will be waiving charges and fees directly resulting from the event,” Intoxalock said, also posting on its status page that “Effective immediately, service centers will be able to give your device a 10-day extension while our systems are being restored.”
The company said it has set up a dedicated SMS/text line and have increased staffing to better support its customers.
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