On the evening of November 1, Ukraine's official "Air Raid Alert" app, designed to warn the public about threats, was hit by a hacker attack. As a result, users began receiving false messages about radiation and chemical hazards, as well as alerts about the threat of street fighting in Kyiv, the website infohub.kz reports.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces were the first to respond to the incident, with the military refuting the reports of a radiation threat. The app's developers later confirmed the breach: they disabled notifications and suspended the service itself. Overnight into November 2, specialists reported that the app was gradually being restored after the cyberattack.
At the same time, news emerged of an attack on the mobile app of the Ministry of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Relief of the Russian Federation. According to the publication, the ministry's app came under a massive cyberattack, as a result of which the perpetrators sent out false information to users. They received messages about "nuclear warheads" allegedly launched toward Russia, the publication writes.
According to RBC, Russia's Emergencies Ministry confirmed that the app had indeed been attacked, with the perpetrators managing to send fake information to the public. "Work is currently underway to fix the vulnerability in the mobile app and restore its normal operation," the ministry said.
The rescuers also stressed that the public warning system is operating normally. The hacking of the app has not affected and cannot affect the operation of the warning system.