False Emergency Alert Sent to Thousands of Phones in Brazil After Suspected Hack
Authorities said 10 alerts were tracked nationwide as Brazil worked to restore the disabled warning platform after the intrusion.
- On Saturday, cell phones across Brazil received an unauthorized 'Extreme Alert' message affecting residents in Paraná, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro, sparking widespread confusion.
- The Regional Development Ministry and federal police are investigating the intrusion, believed to result from a hacker attack. Authorities took The Civil Defense Alert platform offline at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday.
- Devices displayed 'misantropi4,' a leetspeak variation of the Portuguese word 'misantropia' translating to 'misanthropy,' sent via the Cellbroadcast tool to millions of users.
- National Secretary of Protection and Civil Defense Wolnei Wolff reported 10 alerts were tracked across various Brazilian states. The National Telecommunications Agency joined the investigation.
- The Federal Government is working to restore the platform, though no timeline has been provided for when the system will return online.
47 Articles
47 Articles
Millions of Brazilians Receive Fake Emergency Alert as Suspected Hack Disrupts National Warning System
Millions of Brazilians received a fake emergency alert containing the word "misanthropy" after a suspected cyberattack disrupted the country's civil defense warning system.
KEZI 9 News
An unauthorized alert with a mysterious message that was sent to cell phones in several Brazilian states on Saturday morning is suspected to be the work of hackers, the Brazilian government reported.
False emergency alert sent to thousands of phones in Brazil after suspected hack
Brazil’s national civil defense alert system was taken offline after a suspected hack sent false emergency alerts to thousands of cell phones across several regions, according to officials and local media. The platform used by Defesa Civil Alerta was taken offline at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday after an “Extreme Alert” message was sent remotely by […]
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