Residents of several cities in Brazil receive fake Civil Defense alert The São Paulo State Civil Defense reported in the early hours of this Saturday (20) that it temporarily disabled the tool for issuing climate event alerts until federal authorities clarify the situation of the national Cell Broadcast program. As g1 reported, during the early morning hours, users in various states of the country, such as Bahia, Paraná, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, and Minas Gerais, received an audible disaster alert with messages containing the word "misanthropy", or variations thereof, which were not linked to any real risk situation.
In some locations in the state, the WhatsApp alert even mentioned an "alien attack". Message received by residents of Belo Horizonte (MG) in the early hours of this Saturday Reproduction ➡️ The Civil Defense system issues sounds and messages to residents of regions at risk of disasters, such as heavy rains. The alerts appear in a pop-up format on cell phones, overlaying the content displayed on the screen. Through a note, the National Secretariat for Civil Protection and Defense (SEDEC) and the Ministry of Integration and Regional Development (MIDR) stated that they contacted the Federal Police to investigate a possible hacker attack on the federal system. READ MORE: 👽 ETs? Mystery? Panic over extreme alert from the National Civil Defense turns into a meme on social media What is 'misanthropy'? Understand the meaning of the word that appeared in the National Civil Defense alert ⚠️National Civil Defense sends extreme audible alert to cell phones; agency speaks of possible hacker attack The agency also states that it “will take steps to turn the system back on as quickly as possible, once all security conditions are re-established”. As a precaution, the São Paulo Civil Defense stated that as a precaution, "the tool has been disabled for now, until the case is clarified" and because "to date, there is no record of an occurrence that justifies the issuance of an extreme alert related to the reported content". See the statement from the São Paulo agency: "The São Paulo State Civil Defense informs that it has become aware of reports regarding the reception of an alert message via Cell Broadcast technology containing content incompatible with official emergency communication protocols. We clarify that the message in question was not issued by the São Paulo State Civil Defense. As soon as the reports were identified, verification procedures were initiated with the competent bodies, including the National Civil Defense, the National Telecommunications Agency (Anatel), and other institutions involved in the operation of the system, to investigate the origin of the message. To date, there is no record of an occurrence that justifies the issuance of an extreme alert related to the reported content.
For now, the tool has been disabled until the case is clarified. Further information will be released as soon as there are updates". Emergency management room of the São Paulo Civil Defense, which operates the climate alert sending system in the state. Disclosure/GESP Audible alert in seven capitals An extreme audible Civil Defense alert was sent to cell phones of residents in several cities in Brazil between Friday night (19) and the early hours of this Saturday (20).
The messages contained the word "misanthropy", or variations thereof, and were not linked to any real risk situation. In some locations, the alert mentioned an "alien attack". The National Civil Defense reported that the platform used to send the alerts was taken offline at 1:30 AM this Saturday (20), after suffering an intrusion.
According to the agency, the broadcast was made remotely by someone without authorization and may have been the result of a hacker attack (read the full statement below). "The National Secretariat for Civil Protection and Defense of the Ministry of Integration and Regional Development will contact the Federal Police and take steps to turn the system back on as quickly as possible, once all security conditions are re-established," it said in a note. The episode was reported by residents of cities such as: Curitiba São Paulo Rio de Janeiro Belo Horizonte Brasília Salvador and Campo Grande. The alert generated surprise and confusion on social media, since the term has no relation to climatic phenomena or emergency situations. "Misanthropy" means aversion or rejection of humanity, and can also refer to social isolation, melancholy, or deep sadness. In addition to the audible alert, residents of Rio de Janeiro also reported receiving text messages with unusual content.
In one of the records sent to g1, the message attributed to the Civil Defense said: “misantropo ADRESS RJ burros dms pprt”. The text, with spelling errors and out of context, reinforced the suspicion of a system failure or misuse. Screenshot shows a text message attributed to the Civil Defense received by a resident of Rio de Janeiro in the early hours of this Saturday (20). Reproduction Meanwhile, in Belo Horizonte, the message said "Protect yourself: ALIEN ATTACK, HUMANS WE ARE HERE misanthrope". READ ALSO: Residents of Salvador are frightened upon receiving an audible alert with the word 'misanthropy' on their cell phones during the early morning In a note, the Paraná Civil Defense stated that it did not issue the message and said there is no risk situation in Curitiba.
The Paraná government reiterated that “the alert triggered a few minutes ago did not come from the Paraná Civil Defense”. On Saturday morning, however, the state received an orange alert from the National Institute of Meteorology (Inmet) for the danger of storms, winds of up to 100 km/h, and hail. Paraná receives true storm alert with winds of up to 100 km/h in 69 cities; see where and the weather forecast The São Paulo Civil Defense also stated that it did not send any alerts. According to the agency, the CellBroadcast tool used to send the messages is managed by Anatel. The Rio de Janeiro Civil Defense also denied having triggered the message and stated that it continues to monitor the situation.
"There is currently no risk situation related to natural disasters that justifies the issuance of an alert to the population of Rio de Janeiro," it said in a note. In a note, the Salvador Civil Defense (Codesal) informed that it was not responsible for sending the message and clarified that there is no imminent risk situation or severe meteorological event forecast for the Bahian capital that would justify issuing an extreme alert. To g1, the State Coordination of Civil Protection and Defense of Mato Grosso do Sul (Cepedec-MS) reported that the case is being investigated by the agency. What does 'misanthropy' mean? The word “misanthropy” caught users' attention. According to the Michaelis dictionary, the term means aversion or rejection of humanity, and can also refer to social isolation, melancholy, or deep sadness. On social media, the message quickly became a meme.
Some internet users joked about the situation and associated the alert with fictional scenarios, such as alien invasions and mysterious messages. What the National Civil Defense says "The sending platform of Civil Defense Alert was taken offline at 1:30 AM this Saturday (June 20), after suffering an intrusion and sending an alert to various regions of the country, ordered remotely by someone outside the National Civil Protection and Defense System. The message triggered was of the Extreme Alert type and contained the word “misanthropy” — which means hatred of humanity. It is likely a hacker attack. The National Secretariat for Civil Protection and Defense of the Ministry of Integration and Regional Development will contact the Federal Police and take steps to turn the system back on as quickly as possible, once all security conditions are re-established." Resident of Rio de Janeiro shows extreme alert received on his cell phone with the word “misanthropy”. Reproduction.
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