"The clock is ticking" - The chilling threat that forced Irish media outlets to evacuate

The text of the emailed bomb threat that prompted the evacuation of the offices of major Irish media outlets in Dublin on Friday, November 6, has been revealed.

RTÉ, Virgin Media, Newstalk and the Irish Independent all received the emailed bomb threat, which has since been confirmed as a hoax.

Bulgaria’s Nova TV and British broadcaster Sky were also reportedly in receipt of similar threats on Friday.

A spokesperson for An Síochána told IrishCentral on Friday that the police force is aware of the threat, that it is liaising with the Irish media organizations, and that the threats will be investigated.

The Irish Independent shared footage from inside its Talbot Street offices as the evacuation got underway:

Friday's hoax bomb threat emails have been condemned by the Irish outlets as well as Irish politicians.

The threats to the media groups come after multiple flights, including from Aer Lingus and Ryanair, were targeted in similar hoaxes across Europe throughout the week, including again on Friday.

And on Monday, a cyber attack shut down freezers in more than a dozen SuperValu locations in Ireland.

Threat to Irish media outlets

"Hello. I am one of the leaders of the group responsible for the bomb threats against airplanes in Europe over the past week.

"European authorities have once again shown that they are incompetent fools who are incapable of doing anything to stop us.

"We experimented with multithreading, and we succeeded in causing widespread panic, as well as forcing European authorities to spend a fortune on all these procedures.

"But this is only the beginning. What happened this week is just a small part of what awaits Europe in the near future.

"Right now, we’re preparing a new wave of attacks. Right now, we’re recruiting residents of your countries who are actively cooperating with us. We’ve also gained access to compromised devices, servers, and accounts belonging to residents of Europe, as well as those outside its borders—which will allow us to use this against you.

"Very soon, we will be blowing up your airplanes, cruise ships, subway stations, and trains. In the meantime, I recommend taking a vacation by plane while you still have the chance.

"We want the whole world to know about us, which is why one of our operatives has planted an explosive device in your building. It will detonate in 45 minutes.

"The clock is ticking."

Who is behind the hoax threats?

The email sent to RTÉ and other outlets was reportedly signed by a 'Mikhail Andropov,' with Reuters noting that the purported signatory shares ‌a surname ⁠with Yuri Andropov, a former General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The title of Friday's threatening email - “MESSAGE TO THE WEST" - echoed the title of a biography of Andropov called “New Challenge to the West."

However, Reuters said on Friday that it was not able to establish the identity of the sender, the origin ​of the emails, or whether they had come from the same source as the threats to any or all of the dozens ​of flights targeted across Europe during the week.

The hoax threat emails received at European airports during the week did not mention a Mikhail Andropov, but did mention "the fighters of the Male State," which is reportedly a Russian radical right-wing extremist movement founded online in 2016 by Vladislav Pozdnyakov.

However, Pozdnyakov has denied involvement in this week's threats, claiming that 'the Male State' is no longer in operation and that anyone currently claiming to be part of the group is "essentially flying someone else’s flag."

Separately, in a statement to the Irish Examiner, the Russian Embassy in Dublin said it knew “as much as you do” about the incidents, adding that Ambassador Yuriy Filatov had no comment. A spokesperson told the Irish Examiner: “Any speculation over alleged Russian connection in these issues is completely out of place and totally unfounded.”

The Irish Government also said on Friday that it does not know who is behind the hoax threats.

"It is not known yet who is responsible for these threats, whether it is individuals or a centralised or co-ordinated effort," the Irish Government said.

"However, these threats come on the heels of the ongoing disruption to aviation around Europe caused by similar threats, and it seems likely that this is a co-ordinated campaign of disruption."