False warnings of air raids, radiation hazards and chemical attacks were sent to users of an alert app in Ukraine. An app in Russia also issued false notifications. According to the BBC, authorities in both countries reported interference with the systems, but it remained unclear who was responsible or whether the incidents were connected.
The incidents took place on Sunday evening, 1 November. In Ukraine, the app issued air raid warnings across the country. Some users, including people in Kyiv, also received false alerts about radiation hazards, chemical attacks and street fighting.
Ukraine’s air force said the app had probably been subjected to hostile interference. It denied there was a radiation threat and directed users to other official information channels. The BBC reported that the Ukrainian government temporarily disabled the app for technical work. The notifications were not confirmation of an actual radiation hazard.
Russian authorities report mass cyberattack
In Russia, authorities said an alert app had been targeted in a mass cyberattack and was issuing false information. The country’s emergencies ministry said on Monday, 2 November, that the incident had not affected the wider warning system.
The ministry said it planned to restore the app’s full functionality by the end of Monday. This was a statement about the expected completion of work, rather than confirmation that the service had already been restored.
Although both incidents occurred on the same evening and affected similar services, that does not establish that they had a common perpetrator. The BBC reported that it was not known who was behind the attacks or whether there was a link between them.
