Italy’s government will introduce new measures for handling security alerts, including mass threat emails, under which buildings would generally not be evacuated unless there is concrete evidence of danger, it said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, schools across Italy were evacuated after about 6,300 of them received bomb threats, the latest in a series of hoaxes and cyberattacks that have recently targeted schools, supermarkets, blood banks, air traffic systems and broadcasters across Europe.
Many schools closed immediately after receiving the warnings, causing widespread disruption as parents rushed to collect their children and concern spread across social media. More alarms were reported on Thursday, and some schools were again shut down.
Police in Rome said reports of threats had been received from a number of schools, although on a smaller scale than on Wednesday, and that “there was nothing to substantiate them.”
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called opposition leaders to her office for talks on how to deal with similar incidents.
Buildings should not be evacuated in the absence of concrete elements beyond the mere receipt of a mass email that would suggest a genuine danger exists,” the Prime Minister’s office said.
Some European officials suspect Russia may be behind a campaign of disruption to everyday life in European nations supporting Ukraine after Moscow’s attack.
Italian officials have so far said there was no evidence of that. Russia denies involvement and accuses the West of a smear campaign.
After the two-hour meeting, opposition leaders from the centre and left said it was up to the government to come forward with proposals to address such threats, but criticised Meloni for what they described as inadequate investment in cybersecurity.
“How has the money been spent so far? Yesterday’s alarm could have been dealt with using a good antivirus programme,” said former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, leader of the centrist Italia Viva party.
Italy was not the only country targeted by the campaign, but its initial response caused more disruption.
Authorities in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland said many schools had received similar threatening emails from abroad, but classified them as hoaxes and allowed classes to continue.
“We asked the prime minister why, in Ireland, authorities had warned schools in advance and told them to remain open because the emails were not considered a threat,” said Nicola Fratoianni of the Green-Left Alliance.
Opposition parties have accused Meloni of prioritising spending on conventional military equipment while neglecting what they say are more pressing cyber threats.
“”We need stronger coordination among the bodies responsible for cybersecurity, and we have proposed shifting part of the available resources towards cyber defences,” said Elly Schlein, the leader of the main opposition Democratic Party.
