Ukraine air raid app apparently hacked as users receive false radiation threat, Air Force says
Authorities say there is no threat and have advised the public to stay calm and follow official channels for information.
Ukraine air raid app apparently hacked as users receive false radiation threat, Air Force says
Ukraine’s air raid alert app was apparently hacked on Sunday and briefly reported that the capital, Kyiv, was under a radiation threat, the Ukrainian Air Force said.
In a Telegram post, the Air Force wrote: "The Air Alarm application has probably been subjected to hostile interference. There is no radiation threat! Stay calm and follow our updates on our channel."
The Ukrainian Central Intelligence Agency said on Telegram that the app had malfunctioned and urged people to rely on other sources of information to clarify the situation concerning the air strike threat.
The messages, in Ukrainian, began at about 22:47 (20:47 GMT), with the first saying: "Radiation threat. Radiation threat declared in Kyiv."
The next alert, in Russian, arrived at 22:48 and said: "Hi! There will be a nuclear alert across Ukraine. Don't worry, it's Oreshnik flying".
A third alert, sent at 22:49 and again in Ukrainian, said: "Chemical threat. There is a threat of a chemical attack on Kyiv. Don't go outside."
At 22:49, a fourth alert said there was a "Street fighting threat. Street fighting is taking place in Kyiv. Don't go outside."
Users then received a series of all-clear messages on their phones, each linked to one of the earlier alerts and individually stating that the threat had been cleared.
In a separate post, the Ukrainian Central Intelligence Agency said that because of the Air Alert application, the Radiation Hazard signal was broadcast on loudspeakers in the Lviv region, and added that there was no radiation hazard threat.
It advised the public to turn on smartphone notifications, pay attention to sirens, and read only official sources.
Vinnytsia oblast governor Natalya Zabolotna said there had been a cyberattack on the Air Alert app and posted a warning on Telegram telling people not to click the link in the message.
The Air Alert app is backed by Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation and gives users immediate notice of the start and end of defence alerts.