Brazil suspects cyber attack due to false emergency alert (representational image)
A suspected cyberattack led to a series of false warnings across the country overnight, after which the mobile emergency alert system was temporarily suspended, Brazil’s Civil Defense Agency said on Saturday.The alerts, which were sent overnight between Friday and Saturday, caused widespread confusion and sparked complaints from residents who said they were awakened by loud emergency notifications. The system is typically reserved for major disasters and public safety emergencies.The agency said in a statement that the suspicious message was issued as a “severe alert” and included the word “misanthropy,” a term that refers to hatred of humanity.
Authorities believe the notification may have been the result of a hacker intrusion, Agence France-Presse reported.According to Civil Defense, the false alarms were sent to multiple regions in Brazil after being activated remotely by someone outside the National Protection and Civil Defense System.The agency said it requested assistance from the Federal Police to investigate the incident. It added that the alert network will remain offline until additional security measures are implemented and the system can be safely restored.
