Ukrainian and Russian alert apps hacked, spreading false warnings of nuclear threat

Ukraine and Russia have both announced that the apps used in their countries to alert the public to attack threats were hacked, BBC reported. Officials in both countries described the incidents as cyberattacks, while Ukraine's Air Force blamed Russia.

False alerts in Kyiv

At 22:47 local time on Sunday, people in Ukraine received red-level warnings about air strike threats. In Kyiv, several further alerts followed. The first spoke of a radiation threat in the capital. A minute later, a message written in Russian said a nuclear alert would be declared in Ukraine and that the Oreshnik was flying. The Oreshnik is a Russian intermediate-range ballistic missile that can carry either nuclear warheads or conventional payloads.

At 22:49, a message in Ukrainian announced a chemical threat in Kyiv and told residents to stay indoors. A fourth warning claimed street fighting was under way in the city. At 23:53, messages were sent to residents' mobile phones cancelling the earlier alerts.

Ukraine's Air Force then said the warning app had been hacked and that there was no immediate threat of a nuclear attack.

Reaction

Ukrainian politician Oleksandr Merezhko told BBC that the use of Russian in the messages immediately raised suspicion, and described the hack as part of a cyberwar. Olena, a Kyiv resident, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that her first thought was that she was not ready for this. She said she was prepared for power cuts and for heating and water being switched off, but not for a nuclear attack. She concluded the app had been hacked because threat alerts are normally received in Ukrainian.

Russia's side

A few hours after the incident in Ukraine, Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations said its alert app had suffered a "massive cyberattack". According to the ministry, hackers spread untrue information, including fake warnings that nuclear warheads had been launched at all Russian regions.