Hackers suspected to be behind unauthorized alert sent to cell phones across Brazil
The unauthorized alert, which sent a mysterious message to mobile phones in several Brazilian states on Saturday morning, is suspected to be the work of the suspect. hackers, Brazilian government said.
The devices lit up with the word “misantropi4”, which is an alphanumeric spelling of the Portuguese word “misantropia”, which means “misanthropy” in English. The letter ‘a’ at the end was replaced with the number ‘4’; This is a practice often used by hackers called “leetspeak”.
The alert, classified as “extreme”, was first received in the southern state of Paraná, but a few minutes later a second alert was triggered for mobile phones in major cities such as São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
Suspected hacker sent unauthorized alert across Brazil. – CNN Brazil
The emergency messaging system is similar to the US’s Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA); better known to most Americans as AMBER alerts; This system allows authorities to broadcast short emergency text messages directly to mobile devices in a specific geographic area, regardless of phone number or network.
Brazilian officials said the National Civil Defense’s alert platform was taken offline after it became the target of a possible hacker attack, and the government is working to restore the tool once all security conditions are restored.
According to a statement from Brazil’s National Civil Defense, the false alarm was triggered remotely by someone who was not part of the National Civil Protection and Defense System.
In the statement of the agency, it was said: “The message sent was of the type ‘Extreme Warning’ and contained the word ‘misanthropy’, which means hatred against humanity. It is probably a hacker attack.”
São Paulo Civil Defense said in a statement that the warning was not sent by any of its representatives and that, to date, there is no record of any incident regarding the reported content that would justify issuing an excessive warning.
The statement also stated that the Cellbroadcast tool used to send severe and extreme warnings is managed by Anatel (National Telecommunications Authority) and has been temporarily disabled. São Paulo Civil Defense said it contacted Anatel and other agencies involved in the system operation to investigate the origin of the message.
Among the places where the unauthorized warning message was received was São Paulo, one of the most populous cities in the world. – Fabio Vieira/FotoRua/NurPhoto/Getty Images
CNN Brasil contacted Anatel and has not yet received a response.
In addition to the warning made through the Cellbroadcast platform, residents of the city of São Paulo reported that they also received a message with the same content via SMS.
In Paraná, the state government said the alert was not triggered by the state’s Civil Defense and that no serious incidents were expected for Curitiba. The state said it contacted the National Civil Defense and Anatel regarding the issue.
Meanwhile, Rio de Janeiro Civil Defense confirmed that no official warning had been issued and said that the message received by users was “due to instability in the IDAP/Cellbroadcast alert sending system, a platform under the responsibility of the National Civil Defense, affiliated with the Federal Government.”
The agency also said that there is no risk of natural disasters that would require a warning to the people of Rio de Janeiro and that they continue to monitor the situation. Rio residents also reported receiving an SMS message regarding the warning.
CNN’s Marcelo Medeiros contributed to this report.
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