It was expected and it arrived on time. For the second consecutive day, a wave of false bomb alerts unleashed chaos in European skies, with flights diverted, escorted by fighters and cleared upon arrival, just as a series of false reports were delivered to the editorial offices of around twenty media outlets in Ireland, Great Britain and Bulgaria.
The intelligence agencies expected it, indeed - we reason - in a certain sense it couldn't have been otherwise. A swatting campaign - as it is called in jargon - does not require large resources. To send an avalanche of false alarms relating to sensitive targets, all you need is a series of stolen or anonymized accounts - there are several providers that provide them - and private or encrypted connections that shield the origin of the electronic or telephone traffic. Those identified with the first investigations are of an advanced level, but for swatting to be effective it is not even necessary. And the result is maximum: security services mobilized, economic damage, but above all panic and disorientation among the population.
A phenomenon that intelligence agencies have been monitoring with concern for some time: attacks are increasing at a dizzying pace. In the last year alone, says the Department of Safety, those on US schools have increased by 540%. Protocols to identify the nature of messages, forms that identify suspicious users and filters exist and are being worked on, but in the case of sensitive objectives, caution is a must.
This is why at the end of yet another day of false alarms, one can only do the math. With 9 flights monitored, Prague was the airport most under stress, another four in Madrid, two in Italy, still others in Brussels, Paris and Sofia. In all there are at least 22, which are added to the 25 planes disturbed by false bomb alerts the day before, to the seven of November 2nd, as well as the single report of November 1st, in a month complicated by attacks on refrigeration systems throughout Europe and waves of false alarms in schools in Italy, Serbia, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Hungary. Adding to the chaos in the skies yesterday was the attempt to disrupt the media, with at least a dozen Irish radio, TV and newspapers evacuated and cleared away.
Bomb alerts in European skies, plane landing and safety procedures
The self-styled head of the Russian neo-Nazi organization Male Legion, which had claimed responsibility for the first attacks, stated in an email sent to various Irish, British and Bulgarian media that this is an evolution of the "attack" on the aviation sector the previous day. «This is just the beginning. Very soon we will blow up your planes, cruise ships, metro stations and trains,” promises Mikhail Andropov. A name, analysts point out, which evokes that of the historic head of the KGB who later became head of the party, but of which there appears to be no trace on the movement's still active channels. Exactly the same ones on which the founder, Vladislav Pozdnyakov, denies any involvement of the organization: "It no longer exists".
All elements to be taken with a grain of salt suggest analysts and investigators, who are increasingly inclined to read a single plan and strategy in the swarm of alarms and attacks, but probably different actors and not in conflict with each other. "For now however - explains a source close to the file - there are no concrete elements". Aviation safety experts from the 27 countries will meet next week in Brussels to discuss the necessary response and prevention measures, but at the moment, confirms the EU Transport Commission, "it is up to the national authorities to proceed". In Italy, the prosecutor's offices in Milan, Busto Arsizio and Rome are proceeding due to alarm, but it is work that the National Anti-Mafia and Anti-Terrorism Directorate also follows closely. The situation is different for the hacker attack on the refrigerators: the national prosecutor Giovanni Melillo has decided to take over the coordination of the investigations of the offices concerned.
The wave of hacker attacks and false alarms "says that civil infrastructures are under attack", says a worried Prime Minister Meloni, while the Spanish Foreign Minister Albares speaks of an "attempt at hybrid aggression and psychological warfare". Meanwhile, concern is growing in Europe about the summits that will bring together at least 50 EU leaders in Dublin on Thursday and Friday. “Appropriate response protocols are being developed,” assures Prime Minister Michael Martin. But the path to identifying the origin of the threat seems to be all uphill.
