Over 6,000 schools in Italy get bomb threats; similar warnings in UK & Ireland
Over 6,000 schools across Italy were targeted by identical bomb threat emails, leading to widespread evacuations and security sweeps. The threats, which also affected schools in the UK and Ireland, were signed by a group claiming to be Russian hackers.
Why it matters
The coordinated nature of these threats highlights the vulnerability of public infrastructure to large-scale digital harassment and the potential for significant disruption to education systems.
More than 6000 schools across Italy received bomb threats and over 300 plus were evacuated on Wednesday after receiving identical bomb threat emails warning of a “genocide against the Italians”, triggering security sweeps and disrupting classes across the country.The threats were sent to educational institutions in several regions, from Rome to Friuli in the north and Basilicata in the south. Students and staff were moved to safe areas while police searched school premises for explosives.The email was signed by a sender identifying himself as “Mikhail Andropov, leader of the Vilayat of Misoginistan”, according to a government source familiar with the matter. It claimed that a powerful explosive device with a remote detonator had been placed inside a school building and threatened to kill Italians in a mass attack.
Headlinne story · 3 newsrooms
Italian Schools Evacuate Following Wave of False Bomb Threats Across Europe
What every outlet reported, where they differ, and how each framed it →
Also covering this story
3 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in