Hackers trigger fake airstrike alerts in Russia

MOSCOW: A hacking attack prompted some Russian broadcasters to issue a false alert on Tuesday, urging people to protect themselves from an incoming missile attack, the Emergencies Ministry said.

“As a result of hacking of servers of radio stations and TV stations, information about the announcement of an air alert was broadcast in some regions of the country,” the ministry said in a statement.

“This information is incorrect and does not correspond to reality.”

Regions where the fake news was spread included the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, RIA Novosti news agency reported.

A picture was shown on regional television with a symbol of a man running for cover from incoming missiles and a message reading “Everybody to the shelters now,” according to images posted to social media.

Radio stations played a loud siren tone with a message that read: “Warning, warning. An air alert is issued. Everyone is going to the shelters now. Danger! Danger. missile threat.”

Russian state media quoted some local officials as blaming Ukraine for the news. There was no official comment from Kiev.

Several radio stations issued similar warnings last week, and websites run by Russia’s state television conglomerate went under during President Vladimir Putin’s annual state of the nation address to Russian lawmakers on February 21, in what state media described as distributed denial of service ( DDoS) attack.

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that Ukraine had launched attempted drone strikes on two southern Russian regions overnight.

The Defense Ministry said the attacks – in the southern Krasnodar and Adygea regions – were suppressed and did no damage.