Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said its mobile app was hit by a mass cyberattack overnight on November 2, allowing attackers to send false information to the public. Officials are working to fix a vulnerability and restore normal service.
The ministry’s regional office in Kemerovo published the alert, confirming that false information had been distributed through the app. The statement did not identify the messages, the number of recipients, the attack method or the suspected perpetrators.
Later, the ministry said the national public warning system was operating normally and that the app breach had not affected it. Interfax reported that officials were restoring the app and that warnings continued through regional and municipal sirens, loudspeakers, SMS, television and radio.
The incident comes a day after Ukraine’s Air Alert app was compromised and briefly sent false nuclear and chemical warnings and reports of street fighting. Authorities have not said whether the two attacks are connected.
Russia’s app is an additional information channel, not the country’s core public warning infrastructure, according to the ministry. The disruption affected the app’s reliability, while official emergency alerts continued through other systems.
What users should do
Do not forward alarming app messages until they are verified. Check regional EMERCOM and local-government channels, and follow confirmed instructions from sirens, SMS and broadcast alerts. The ministry said those warning channels remained operational.
Ukraine’s recent Air Alert app compromise also shows why people should verify urgent digital warnings through more than one official source. Android users can also learn about Google’s emergency alert system for Ukraine, which uses government-sourced warnings.
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Russia's Emergency App Hit by Cyberattack, False Alerts Sent
