Russian authorities have confirmed a cyberattack targeting the location of the country’s emergency response agency, which warned of a possible “threat of nuclear retaliation from NATO countries.”
On April 19, some netizens and journalists were horrified to discover on the website of Russia’s Ministry of Emergency Situations at least scary news warning of an imminent nuclear conflict between Russia and NATO.
In a statement published on its “Press” page, the panel urged the Russian people to prepare in case NATO launches nuclear countermeasures and suggested a first attack on the Kremlin on April 24, Orthodox Easter .
This article was published a few hours ago. Russia’s Emergencies Ministry says citizens should be prepared for a retaliatory nuclear strike by NATO countries on April 24, Easter. The article was recently deleted. pic.twitter.com/AF9kKofQrq
— alina radu (@alina_ra) April 19, 2022
As the Newsweek website explains, the official information provided the Russian people with some basic advice on what, if anything, to do. For example, “converting the basements of apartments, as well as the nearest underground shelters, into habitable spaces”, storing fuel (80 liters per vehicle), food, medicines, iodine or potable water.
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In a context where the use of tactical nuclear weapons by a pushed-to-the-limits Vladimir Putin is not entirely out of the question, and while the Kremlin, in a thinly veiled threat to the West, has just put its new intercontinental test to the test, the Sarmat missile (nicknamed “Satan II”), the Russian Ministry’s alert quickly became a cause for concern. But it also quickly disappeared after being taken offline hours after it was first published on the official Russian website.
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The internet sphere was not long in coming to detect a cyber attack. Many quickly accused hackers of taking control of the ministry’s website in an attempt to plant this terrifying false prophecy. A suspicion that was quickly confirmed.
Kevin Rothrock of the independent investigative outlet Meduza, Newsweek reported, as well as the Moscow daily Moskovsky Komsomolets disseminated this “sensitive” information, which is deeply embarrassing for the Russian Federation. Moscow daily Moskovsky Komsomolets published an online article Tuesday about the alleged hack. According to the outlet, an article published on the “Press” page of the agency’s official portal, a separate address from the ministry’s official site, had been hacked. In response to this publication, the authorities claimed that it was a fake publication and that everything was fake.
In a message posted some time later on VK, the popular Russian social network, the hacked ministry itself confirmed that it had suffered an “external attack.”