Every current and future war is going to have a cyberwarfare element.
In the latest example of just this, on Sunday we learned that the civil air-defense alert system in Ukraine was hacked, and false messages sent out warning of possible chemical and nuclear attacks. There were no such attacks. Fox News' Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst has some on-scene reporting.
NEW: Ukraine's air raid alert system was hacked, sending warnings of chemical and radiation threats to phones across the country. The loudspeaker alert system was also compromised, blaring a similar message in the streets of Kyiv. https://t.co/TjQ5RgI9cX
— Trey Yingst (@TreyYingst) November 1, 2026
Mr. Yingst says:
John, we have some breaking news right now from Ukraine. The air alert system that warns the civilian population of Ukraine about incoming Russian missile and drone attacks has been hacked. Alerts were sent out on phones across this country, warning of a radiation threat and a chemical threat. Additionally, speakers across the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv were blaring with similar messages. Officials here in the Ukrainian capital telling Fox News this is a false alarm and there is a hack underway.
The Kyiv Independent has more details.
Ukraine's air raid alert system was hacked late Nov. 1, the Air Force said, as sirens sounded across the country and people received false alerts warning of nuclear, chemical, and street fighting threats.
Kyiv Independent journalists on the ground received notifications on their phones from the officially supported Air Alert app, made in collaboration between the Digital Transformation Ministry and security technology company Ajax Systems.
"Hi! A nuclear alert is about to go off all across Ukraine! Don't worry, the Oreshnik is on its way," one of the false warnings read in Russian on the Air Alert app.
Air raid alerts also sounded in streets across the country, including Zakarpattia Oblast in western Ukraine, journalists on the ground reported.
There are no reports of any actual attacks. The reports, though, specifically mention the threat of a chemical or radiological attack, the latter of which doesn't necessarily imply a nuclear weapon, but any kind of dispersal of radioactive material.
As of this writing, there's no indication as to where the hacking attempt originated. However, there are indications from the reporting that there was a phishing (information-seeking) element to it, perhaps hoping to gain increased access to Ukraine's systems.
Officials also warned the cyberattack could involve a phishing operation with attached links.
"Cyberattack on the 'Air Alert' app. Do not click on the link in the message," Vinnytsia Oblast Governor Natalia Zabolotna reported.
While it seems likely that Russia would be the primary suspect (and that's the way to bet), ever since the beginnings of the internet and cyberattacks, we've seen random anonymous groups messing with a system like this just because they could. And conditions in eastern Europe seem to have most of the continent choosing up sides.
Here's the thing: If hackers can turn this system on as a false alarm, who's to say they couldn't turn the system off in advance of a real attack?
This is a developing story. Stay tuned.
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