Spain, Portugal Power Outage Not Cyberattack, Official ⁣Says

LISBON, Portugal –‍ A widespread electrical failure that⁢ impacted both Spain and Portugal is not the result of a cyberattack, according to Antonio Costa, president ⁣of the European Council. ⁣Costa addressed the situation Monday, stating that network managers in both countries are actively working to pinpoint ⁢the cause of the disruption and restore power.

“The network managers of the two countries strive to find the cause of thes breakdowns ⁢and restore the supply of electricity,” Costa said in a message posted on⁣ X, formerly known as Twitter. “No indication of a cyber attack at this stage.”

False Information Spreads Online

Costa’s statement comes amid the rapid spread ⁣of misinformation regarding the outage. A false ⁤message circulating on WhatsApp falsely attributed a quote to ⁤European Commission President Ursula von⁤ der ‍Leyen, claiming the outage was a “direct attack on⁢ sovereignty,” according to the Portuguese newspaper Express.

The purported⁣ statement, falsely attributed to ⁤CNN International, has been debunked. No such information appears on any official CNN platform, and ⁣a European commission spokesman denied the veracity of the message.

The Portuguese National Cybersecurity Center also supports the assessment that a cyberattack is not the primary cause of the power failure.The center stated ⁤that “no evidence has been identified to date indicating ⁢a cyber attack.”

In a press release reported by the newspaper Mail, the Cybersecurity Center urged the public ⁤to exercise caution ⁢and verify information from reliable sources, adding, “We draw attention ‍to the circulation⁤ of false information in these situations and thus recommend consulting or confirming information from reliable sources.”