False alerts hit Ukrainian app as Russia reports cyberattack

Ukraine’s nationwide Air Alert app briefly sent false warnings of radiation, nuclear and chemical threats and street fighting, prompting officials to tell the public there was no radiation danger. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry separately said its mobile app had been hit by a cyberattack that allowed false information to be sent to users. The Ukrainian alerts appeared on Sunday, November 1, and affected Kyiv and other areas. Messages referred to a radiation threat, a chemical attack and street combat, and one falsely said that Russia’s Oreshnik missile had been deployed. The Ukrainian Air Force said the app had likely been subjected to hostile interference and urged people to stay calm. Four messages were reported between 10:47 p.m. and 10:49 p.m. Kyiv time. One was written in Russian, while the others were in Ukrainian. Individual all-clear notifications followed, and the abnormal alerts disappeared. The warnings also reached some public loudspeakers, including in the Lviv region, according to Ukraine’s Central Intelligence Agency. The Air Alert app, supported by Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation, is used to notify residents of air threats and when alerts end. The...