Ukraine Says Its Air Raid Alert App Was Hacked, Sending False Radiation and Chemical Warnings

Ukraine's Air Force said on Sunday that the public air raid alert app had been hacked, Reuters reported in the dispatch read in full by this desk. For a short time the app showed Kyiv and other areas subject to nuclear and chemical alerts and the threat of street combat, and an erroneous message said Russia's hypersonic Oreshnik missile had been deployed, according to Reuters.

The air force said on Telegram, as carried by Reuters: “The air alert app appears to have been subjected to enemy influence. There is no radiation threat! Stay calm and follow our updates on our channel!” The abnormality later disappeared, according to the report. Ukraine's Ministry for Digital Transformation said the app was not in operation, but other means of alerting the public were functioning, as were air raid sirens, Reuters reported.

In a separate event, the mobile app of Russia's emergencies ministry was hit by a massive cyberattack that resulted in the spread of false information to the public, state news agency TASS quoted the ministry as saying early on Monday, according to Reuters. It was not immediately clear whether the two incidents were linked, the report said. The BBC's top-stories file read this run carried the same incident as a leading item on Sunday night.