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 someone outside the national civil defense system, Brazil’s National Civil Defense said in a statement.

The message contained the word “misantropia,” which means hatred of humanity. Officials said the incident was probably a “hacker attack.”

CNN Brasil reported that the false alert used the spelling “misantropi4” and was sent to cell phones in several Brazilian states. The first alert was sent to phones in Paraná, followed minutes later by a second alert to phones in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.

The alert was sent through Cell Broadcast, a tool used to send severe and extreme emergency warnings to cell phones. CNN Brasil reported that the system is managed by Anatel, Brazil’s national telecommunications agency.

Brazil’s National Secretariat for Protection and Civil Defense said it would contact the Federal Police and take steps to restore the system as soon as possible, once security conditions are reestablished.