As a precaution, the Maine Turnpike Authority hasn't charged tolls to user accounts for nearly a month — a process it plans to resume this week.
TransCore, the authority's E-ZPass vendor, shut down its lane-scanning system after it detected an attempted security breach, said authority spokesperson Erin Courtney.
The system resumed recording toll transactions immediately following the shutdown, but only recently transferred that data to the turnpike authority after the threat of a security breach had passed, Courtney said.
The private data of the authority's 395,000 personal E-ZPass accounts and 13,000 business accounts was never at risk of being compromised after the shutdown, she said.
"If there was even a chance that it was affected, we would have notified our patrons," Courtney said.
The system was shut down from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on March 19, Courtney said. During that period, the authority missed about 110,000 E-ZPass transactions worth an estimated $200,000, based on tolls collected during the same period last year.
Once TransCore resumed lane-scanning, toll transactions were recorded, but they weren't posted to individual E-ZPass accounts, Courtney said. The authority planned to resume posting tolls to E-ZPass accounts on Tuesday, including delayed transactions from the last month.
"People will begin seeing tolls post to their accounts as soon as (Tuesday) morning," she said. "We are going to post a few days at a time, but we anticipate being caught up within the next five to seven business days."
Courtney said the authority has done extensive data testing to verify that delayed toll transactions are accurate and that the system recovery has been successful. If the MTA sees any inconsistencies with a particular transaction, it won't be posted to an E-ZPass user's account, she said.
"We want to ensure this system interruption does not negatively impact our patrons (and) that patrons are charged accurately," Courtney said.
Courtney noted that automatic cash replenishments to user accounts may not have occurred during the last month unless drivers traveled outside Maine, which may have triggered an individual system update.
E-ZPass users who load cash manually into their accounts should check to ensure they are fully funded, she said.
The shutdown was unrelated to the ongoing text messaging scam involving E-ZPass that sends cell phone texts to random Mainers directing them to pay fake toll charges on a fraudulent website. The so-called smishing — SMS phishing — texts appear to be from the turnpike authority and have been received by both E-ZPass users and nonusers.
TransCore, a toll technology company based in Nashville, Tennessee, didn't respond immediately to a request for an interview or statement on the cause and impacts of the E-ZPass shutdown in Maine and whether other states were affected.
E-ZPass is an electronic toll collection system used on highways, bridges and tunnels in the eastern and southern states and across the Midwest. In Maine, the system collects tolls at plazas and exits from York to Gardiner on the turnpike's section of Interstate 95.
The authority issued a notice about the E-ZPass "issue" on March 21.
At that time, some E-ZPass customers would see a red or yellow lighted message telling them to "Call Customer Service" as they passed through toll booths. The authority advised users to disregard the message until further notice.
"The issue is causing a delay in transaction processing and does not indicate a problem with individual E-ZPass accounts," the authority explained. "Toll transactions are still being recorded and will be posted to accounts once the system catches up."
TransCore had identified the problem and was working to restore full function to affected lanes, the authority said.
Last week, the authority announced that "the E-ZPass system interruption that occurred in March has been resolved."
"All toll plaza message signs and lights are functioning properly," the authority said. "If drivers receive a 'Call Customer Service' message at a toll, they should follow up, as it is no longer due to a system error."
Courtney said the MTA cannot fully calculate the amount of toll revenue that wasn't collected when the E-ZPass system was completely offline. The authority collected $191 million in tolls last year.
"Any revenue we were unable to collect during this time will be part of an ongoing discussion with (TransCore)," she said.
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