Russia and Ukraine say emergency alert apps were hit by apparent cyber-attacks
Cyber-attacks on Ukrainian and Russian emergency alert apps appear to be the work of hacktivist groups rather than state-sponsored military units. The hackers used the platforms to spread propaganda and derogatory messages.
Why it matters
This incident underscores the growing influence of non-state actors in modern warfare and the vulnerability of public safety infrastructure to psychological operations.
Amid the messages that popped up on Ukrainian phones over night was one that contained a link to a newly-created Telegram channel.
The channel appears to be run by an anti-Ukrainian group which has quickly gained 15,600 subscribers and a huge amount of activity with hundreds of thousands of views of posts.
The channel posted a screenshot of the alert with a derogatory caption.
The hackers behind the channel also posted propaganda saying that Ukraine is "losing decisively, and you know it".
The alerts themselves were also strangely flippant and not the kind of thing you imagine to be sanctioned by a professional cyber military unit.
""Hi! A nuclear alert is about to go off all across Ukraine! Don't worry, the Oreshnik is on its way."
Headlinne story · 8 newsrooms
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