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Ukraine hacked Russia’s emergency alert system in retaliation for a Russian cyberattack on Ukraine’s own warning system, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with PBS News anchor Amna Nawaz.
On Sunday, November 1, Ukrainian authorities reported that users of the country’s mobile emergency alert app had received fake warnings of an imminent nuclear threat.
The system was temporarily suspended but has since resumed operation. The cyberattacks on the alert applications coincided with the end of a limited ceasefire.
Zelenskyy confirmed that Ukraine’s attack on the Russian system was a response to Moscow’s actions.
“We are only responding to their attacks,” the president said.
According to Zelenskyy, Russia had targeted Ukraine’s system in a cyberattack. Once it became clear that the attack was aimed at civilians, Ukraine decided to retaliate.
On Monday, November 2, Russian authorities said hackers had gained access to their country’s mobile emergency alert app and used it to send users fake warnings.
The disruption occurred on the evening of November 1, when Ukraine’s Air Alert app stopped working. At the same time, the entire country appeared in red on an online air-raid alert map. False reports also appeared claiming there were street battles and chemical and radiological threats in Kyiv.
Later, Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat confirmed to RBC-Ukraine that the app had been hacked. He stressed that none of the reported threats was real.
