Bomb threat forces 300 schools to evacuate in Italy

At least 300 schools in Italy have been evacuated after receiving fake bomb threats via email. Authorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland have also reported similar threats.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Wednesday (November 11) that there was no indication of a real threat of attacks on the country's educational institutions. However, the incident was under investigation. A meeting of government ministers has been called to discuss the situation.

The security alert was issued on Wednesday amid growing concerns about the threat of hybrid warfare at various key installations and institutions across Europe. 

Previously, such threats have been made targeting supermarkets, blood banks, aviation systems, and television broadcasters in various European countries.

Italian Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara told La Seven television channel that at least 300 educational institutions had been hit by bomb threats, and that number could rise.

"There is clearly a strategy at work behind this. It is difficult to say right now who could be behind this. Intelligence agencies are certainly working to identify them," he said.

However, he urged people not to panic, saying, "It is clear from the content of the email that there is almost no real risk. It is likely that this is not a real threat of attack, but a cyber attack."

False threats also in Northern Ireland and Scotland

Meanwhile, threatening emails were also sent to a large number of educational institutions in Scotland and Northern Ireland on Wednesday. The Northern Ireland Education Authority said that schools have been advised to remain open as police do not consider the threats credible.

"The message is similar to a fake threat sent last month. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) declared it a hoax at the time," the education authority said in a statement.

Police Scotland said the messages sent to schools in the country were not credible threats and were being treated as hoaxes. The police's cyber and fraud unit is working to identify the source of the messages, and is liaising with law enforcement agencies in the UK and internationally.

Previously, on October 19, a similar mass bomb attack hoax email was sent to educational institutions in Scotland.

A series of bomb threats across Europe this month have led to flight diversions, groundings and fighter jets escorting aircraft.

In addition, there have been cyber attacks on supermarkets in several European cities. It is believed that hackers tried to spoil food by changing the temperature of the refrigeration systems of these establishments.Last week, hackers increased the temperature of refrigeration systems in supermarkets in Germany, Romania and the UK.

The attacks are similar to a similar cyberattack on hundreds of supermarkets in France last October, which disrupted operations in many supermarkets in the country and destroyed huge amounts of food.

 Source: Al Jazeera