A Civil Defense audible alert classified as ‘extreme’ was sent to cell phones of residents of eight Brazilian cities between Friday night (19) and Saturday morning (20). Extreme alert is the highest level, with immediate urgency, and is used for situations of serious risk to life and property. In this case, the cell phone emits a beep that remains active even when the device is in silent mode.
As messages contained the word “misanthropy”, or variations of it, and were not related to any real risk situation. In some places, the warning mentioned a supposed “alien attack”.
In an interview with TecMundo, one alleged hacker said he used leaked passwords from public servers to send the alerts. Still according to the alleged author, the message was sent intentionally after Brazil’s World Cup game.
What is the alert
Defesa Civil Alerta is a platform used to send emergency warnings to the population. The system uses a technology called Cell Broadcast, which allows messages to be forwarded to cell phones connected to the mobile network in a given area.
Os warnings appear in pop-up format, overlapping the content displayed on the device screen. In risky situations, they can also emit sound signals to attract the attention of the population, as occurred in this case. THE National Civil Defense suspects that the platform has been invaded by hackersas the messages were triggered remotely by someone without authorization.
In addition to the audible alert, residents of Rio de Janeiro reported receiving messages of text with unusual content, including the words ‘misanthrope’ and ‘dumb’. The text, with writing errors and no context, reinforced the suspicion of failure or misuse of the system.
In Belo Horizonte, the message said: “Protect yourself: alien attack, humans we have arrived, misanthrope“.
Which regions received it?
There were reports of alerts occurring in 8 capitals:
– Belo Horizonte (MG);
– Brasília (DF);
– Campo Grande (MS),
– Curitiba (PR);
– Rio Branco (AC);
– Rio de Janeiro (RJ);
– Salvador (BA);
– São Paulo (SP).
The Civil Defenses of the eight States released notes clarifying that they did not issue the messages and they said there was no risk situation.
Disabled
The Civil Defense of the State of São Paulo, in the early hours of Saturday, temporarily disabled the tool until federal authorities clarify the situation of the national Cell Broadcast program.
Platform taken offline
The National Civil Defense reported that the platform Civil Defense Alert was taken off the air at 1:30 am on Saturday morning after suffering an invasion. The system is being gradually rehabilitated.
The Ministry of Integration reported that it called the Federal Police to investigate the episode.
Also on Saturday, the Federal Police opened a preliminary investigation into the shooting of extreme false alerts. According to the corporation, the procedure is already underway.
According to the department, ten false alerts were triggered between 11:41 pm on Friday and 1:23 am on Saturday. Of these, nine were sent via the Cell Broadcast system and one via SMS. It has not yet been possible to estimate how many cell phones received the notifications.
How does the system work?
O Civil Defense Alert is a public system created to send emergency warnings to cell phones located in risk areas. It is used in situations such as intense rain, floods, floods, landslides, windstorms and other events capable of putting the population in danger.
The technology used in the tool is called Cell Broadcast. Unlike SMS messages or application notifications, it does not send alerts to individually registered numbers. The warning is transmitted via telephone antennas to all compatible devices connected to the mobile network in a given area.
IThis allows Civil Defense to send messages to specific regionsdelimited by technical and geographic criteria.
For this reason, the system does not require prior registration, installed application, active data package or internet connection. THE The aim is to quickly reach as many people as possible in an area at risk.
Extreme Alert: most serious risk
The notifications sent this weekend were part of the “Extreme Alert” category, the most serious level, used when Civil Defense identifies threats with imminent risk to life, requiring the population to seek protection immediately.
This is not the first time the category has been activated. On May 31 of this year, this alert was issued to residents of Manaus, capital of Amazonas: “Slide towards Manaus. Stay away from slopes. Seek safe shelter.”
Throughout 2025, the The same classification was used in several regions of Brazil for warnings of flooding, lightning storms, landslides, hail, floods and windstorms.
The system of Civil Defense also has the “Severe Alert”, a lower urgency classification. In these cases, the population has more time to adopt protective measures.
What is misanthropy?
According to the definition in Portuguese language dictionaries, misanthropy is the quality of someone who feels aversion, distrust or rejection of humanity. THE word can also be used to describe a tendency toward social isolation or a state of deep sadness and melancholy.
What does the government say?
The Ministry of Integration and Regional Development (MIDR) reported that it is investigating the improper and unauthorized activation of the Civil Defense Alert (DCA) system.
The platform is temporarily suspended and the Information Technology Directorate is working towards the staggered and secure reestablishment of the system after the identification of a cybersecurity incident in the Public Alert Disclosure Interface (IDAP). To date, there is no evidence of structural damage to the DCA system.
Based on the PF investigation and the diagnosis carried out by the competent bodies, measures will be implemented to reinforce the security of the system.
In a note, the Anatel reported that, as far as is known so far, “the alerts in question did not go through official channels of the system’s technical platform, operated by ABR Telecom (Brazilian Association of Telecommunications Resources)”.
