Technology and Scienceupdated 1h ago2 min read
Russia And Ukraine Hack Emergency Alert Apps, Spread Fake Nuclear And Radiation Warnings
“Coming several hours after the breach on the Ukrainian app, the false messages sent out across the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry app appear likely to be a retaliation operation.”
“It was unclear who was behind the cyberattacks or whether the two incidents were connected.”
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
Russia and Ukraine reported hacks of emergency alert apps triggering nuclear, radiation, and chemical warnings. Occurred Sunday night with messages sent to users across capitals and regions.
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Hacked Alerts, False Threats
Russia said its Emergencies Ministry app came under a “massive cyberattack”, hours after Kyiv said Ukraine’s air raid alert app was hacked and began spreading “false information” about incoming drone attacks.
The Ukrainian Air Force told users in a Telegram post that “The air alert app appears to have been subjected to enemy influence,” adding, “There is no radiation threat! Stay calm and follow our updates on our channel.”
Air Alert began sending false warnings at 10:47 p.m. local time, and the Ukrainian Air Force confirmed at 11:02 p.m. that the notifications were false.
Russia’s Emergencies Ministry app was hacked at 2:45 a.m. in Moscow, and false alerts were sent to users in 33 regions.
The BBC said the government temporarily disabled Ukraine’s app for maintenance after it was “apparently been compromised,” while Russia said its app’s “full functionality will be restored by the end of the day.”
Who Sent the Hoax
Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said hackers used its mobile app to send a false alert in 33 of Russia’s 89 regions at about 2:45 a.m., Moscow time, while the ministry did not say who was behind the cyberattack. The BBC reported that the Air Force urged people to consult other official channels and quoted the Air Force saying, "The Air Alarm application has probably been subjected to hostile interference." Developers of the Air Alert app stated that “unauthorized interference” had occurred and that they temporarily disabled push notifications and the app itself.
The BBC described a purported screenshot of a fake alert shared on Telegram by Atesh, warning that “nuclear warheads mounted on P1-Suns had been launched at all regions of Russia.” CBS News said Yurii Ihnat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian Air Force, stated the hack had no impact on Ukraine’s security operations and that the Air Alert app was not affiliated with the country’s military command systems.
Ceasefire, Bombings, Fallout
The cyberattacks unfolded as a limited ceasefire in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson was expiring on Monday, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on X that “This is yet another test that Russia does not want any de-escalation.” Russia bombed a aid distribution center and a neighboring shelter in the village of Komyshuvakha in the southern Zaporizhzhia region, killing 24 people, and Zelenskyy said 10 guided bombs hit an area that included a school building used to distribute humanitarian aid. Emergency teams searched rubble with flashlights as about 20 people were missing and the death toll could rise, while Russian drones launched additional strikes that hindered rescue efforts.
In Russia, the BBC said there was “no sense the messages had caused widespread panic,” and it quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying Russian government internet resources were “under constant cyberattacks”. In Ukraine, the BBC said the air force urged calm and follow official updates, while CBS News reported that the Air Alert app was gradually being restored with new yellow and red alert levels on the map.