Bomb hoax emails and cyber attacks raise security alert in Ireland

Irish media outlets received a bomb threat email on Friday morning, prompting evacuations and the replacement of live programmes with pre‑recorded content.

RTÉ’s Montrose studio cleared the building and aired a music pre‑recording instead of the “Today with David McCullagh” show on RTÉ 1; the presenter later resumed live broadcasting via a mobile unit. Newstalk and the Independent newspaper group reported receiving the same email, which claimed to be from “Mikail Andropov”, a self‑described leader of a group behind recent bomb threats to European aviation.

The email coincided with ongoing hoax bomb threats that disrupted 30 flights on Thursday and seven on Tuesday, as well as coordinated cyber attacks on supermarket refrigeration units and blood banks across Europe. Some extremist groups, including the Russian‑based “Male State”, initially claimed responsibility, though its founder denied involvement.

Security assessment and upcoming summits

Garda HQ’s threat assessment, already rated “substantial” ahead of next week’s European Political Community summit in Dublin, now includes the possibility of further bomb threats, cyber‑attacks, drone incursions or disruptive protests. The summit will host 55 heads of state, including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and will be followed by EU heads of state meetings during Ireland’s EU Council presidency.

Security services consider Russian intelligence involvement “credible” in the series of incidents, describing them as part of a “hybrid” campaign targeting Europe. Investigations by aviation authorities, police and cyber agencies are ongoing, but attribution remains challenging.

Source: Irish Examiner. Photo: Lajos Kristóf Kántor / Pexels.