FDNY seeks firewall to stop doxxing of workers’ personal data

The FDNY is seeking to build a digital firewall to protect the Big Apple’s thousands of rescue workers from cyberattacks, including “doxxing,” The Post has learned.

The department recently put out a call in the City Record for consultant services “for the development and implementation of protective strategies to address the cyber threat of doxxing and to provide resiliency for the security of personal information.”

Doxxing is the publishing of personal information on the internet with the intent to bully, harass or threaten others.

The sick practice has become increasingly prevalent online. A radical pro-choice group recently doxxed six Supreme Court justices to spur protesters into showing up outside their homes to oppose overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling legalizing abortion.

An FDNY spokesman said the move to increase cybersecurity wasn’t triggered by a doxxing incident involving one of the city’s Bravest. But the department has enormous databases with the personal information of its 15,000 emergency responders and other workers — as well as retirees and patients it treats responding to 911 calls — that could be vulnerable to cyberattacks.

The search for the consultant is “part of the FDNY’s ongoing cybersecurity preparedness measures to protect the department’s data,” spokesman Frank Dwyer said.

The selected cybersecurity pro would help implement anti-hack software and develop a training program for a workforce that interacts regularly with the public, the note to potential bidders says.

“The service should provide real time threat mitigation and recovery capabilities in the event of access to and misappropriation of personally identifiable data during the course of official duties as a member of the FDNY,” reads the note from the department.

One union leader representing FDNY responders said the solicitation to bolster firewall cybersecurity shows the department is behind the times in guarding against data breaches.