Russian TV broadcasting systems announced nuclear strike on Thursday, warning Russians to evacuate to nuclear shelters after hackers seized control of servers
A nuclear strike warning message interrupted Russian TV and radio broadcasts advising citizens to take calcium iodide pills, seek immediate shelter, and put on gas masks.
But the Russian emergencies ministry later revealed that the warnings resulted from a cyber attack on government broadcasters.
“A false air raid alert was broadcast in Moscow after servers of radio stations and TV channels were hacked,” the Russian emergencies ministry said per Insider Paper.
“Nuclear strike has been conducted, please go to the shelter, take your calcium iodide pills,” the warning said.
Watch
However, some commentators claimed the message could be a ploy by the Kremlin to warn the public about impending war as tensions between the east and west remain at an all-time high due to the conflict in Ukraine.
According to reports, Russian media has been the target of multiple hacking attacks since the invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022.
One such attack saw a radio broadcast warn millions of Russians of an imminent missile attack last month.
The fake warning claimed: “An air alert is being announced. Everyone, go to the shelters immediately. Attention! Attention! There is a threat of a missile strike,” according to The Daily Mail.
At the time, a spokesman for Gazprom Media, which runs several of the stations which were attacked, said: “We are dealing with this issue. This will not happen again in the near future.”
In February 2021, another attacked President Putin’s state of the nation address in Moscow.
A major hack operation hit the web links of main state channels as Putin spoke to lawmakers in Russia’s parliament.
A notice on the screen announced ‘Mistake 500’ and that ‘technical works’ were underway.
Although there was no official confirmation of hacking, all 11 of Russia’s time zones were affected.
READ MORE: Putin Issues Warning to U.S. and NATO: Back Off or Face “Catastrophic Consequences”
