Hackers took over emergency alert apps in both Ukraine and Russia overnight, sending false warnings of nuclear, chemical and missile attacks hours apart, officials in both countries said Monday.
Ukraine's air raid app started pushing fake alerts just before 11 p.m. Sunday, Reuters reported. One said Russia had fired a hypersonic Oreshnik missile, which can carry a nuclear warhead, and that a nationwide nuclear alert was in effect. Others told people in Kyiv and other areas to brace for chemical threats and street fighting, CNN reported.
The alerts were in Russian. That alone was a red flag, since Ukrainian is required for official communications in the country. Ukraine's air force said on Telegram the app appeared to be under "enemy influence."
The fake alerts were cleared within about an hour, according to The Kyiv Independent. Ukraine's digital ministry briefly took the app offline, though sirens and other warning systems kept working. By Monday, the app was gradually being restored, said Stepan Tanasiychuk, who runs the Air Raid Alert project.
Russia's turn came a few hours later. The Emergencies Ministry said its mobile app had suffered a massive cyberattack that spread false information, according to the state news agency TASS. One message, seen in the Moscow region and elsewhere, claimed nuclear warheads had been launched across every region of Russia, CNN reported.
Moscow did not name a culprit. A pro-Ukrainian hacking group called Atesh posted a screenshot of the Russian alert on Telegram early Monday. Ukraine's Center for Strategic Communications blamed Russia for the attack on the Ukrainian app, Euronews reported.
The hacks came as a six-day ceasefire around the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, in the Kherson region, ran out. The truce had been brokered by U.S. first lady Melania Trump. Kyiv said Russia refused to extend it, and Ukraine's General Staff accused Russian forces of using the pause to dig in.
Few people seem to have fallen for the fake warnings. Some said the episode made them trust official alerts a little less.