Brazil’s government suspects that a hacking incident triggered unauthorized alerts sent to mobile phones across various parts of the country on Saturday, June 20.
According to a statement from the Secretariat of National Defense and Civil Defense, the country’s public warning system was shut down around 1:30 a.m. local time (04:30 GMT) after users in several states received a message containing the word “misanthropy.”
Misanthropy refers to a general dislike, distrust, or outright hatred of humanity as a whole, human nature, and behavior. It stands as the complete opposite of philanthropy (love for humankind).
Multiple such alerts were issued. One of them was labeled as a “tornado” warning and included the following text: “Alien attack.”
Authorities have stated that the matter has been forwarded to the federal police for investigation, and the alert system will be restored as quickly as possible.
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