An alarm was sounded on Sunday evening (1/11) in Ukraine, when an app used to warn citizens about Russian airstrikes fell victim to a cyberattack, resulting in false alerts about imminent nuclear and chemical strikes. A few hours later, an app operated by Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations was also targeted in a similar attack, causing further turmoil.
In Ukraine, the “Air Alert” app, which provides real-time alerts to millions of citizens about impending airstrikes, began displaying warnings about nuclear and chemical threats, as well as potential street fighting.
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One of the false alerts claimed that Russia had launched the “Oresnik” hypersonic missile, causing concern among the app’s users.
The Ukrainian Air Force rushed to refute the warnings and reassure the public, citing a possible hostile attack on the system.
“It is possible that the Air Alert app has been compromised by the enemy. There is no radiological threat! Stay calm and follow our updates,” it said in a statement via Telegram.
False Alerts About Nuclear and Chemical Weapons and Street Fighting
The misleading messages appeared on citizens’ cell phones in Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine, warning of dangers that did not correspond to reality.
The Ukrainian Emergency Situations Service urged citizens not to open links included in suspicious messages and to avoid spreading unconfirmed information.
Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation announced that the app had been temporarily taken offline, clarifying, however, that the rest of the early warning systems remained operational.
These include air raid sirens, which serve as a key means of warning the population in the event of Russian attacks.
The app’s functionality is particularly important, as in the event of ballistic missile attacks, civilians may have only a few minutes to seek shelter.
Cyberattack in Russia with False Alerts
A few hours later, in the early hours of Monday (November 2), a similar incident was reported in Russia.
According to the state news agency TASS, the app of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations was hit by a large-scale cyberattack, which allowed false alerts to be sent to citizens.
The Russian ministry confirmed the breach of the app and announced that the relevant agencies are working to restore its functionality.
At the same time, it clarified that the cyberattack did not affect the general public warning system, which includes sirens and other mechanisms for alerting the public to emergency threats.
So far, it has not been determined who is behind the two cyberattacks, nor whether the incidents are linked.
The Ukrainian side speaks of hostile interference, while the country’s Center for Strategic Communications has blamed Russia, though no independently verified evidence regarding the perpetrators’ identity has been presented.
The attacks highlight the vulnerability of digital systems used to protect civilians in wartime, as the spread of false alerts can cause panic and undermine trust in official notifications.
Source: Protothema.gr
