Comcast’s Sky Receives Security Threat After RTE Evacuates Staff

Comcast‘s UK network Sky has received a “security threat,” hours after Irish broadcaster RTÉ took the decision to evacuate staff amid a series of alerts across Europe.

“Sky was one of a number of media organizations that received a security threat,” said a Sky spokesperson.

“We have carried out ‌a security assessment and reported the matter to the relevant authorities. The safety and security of our colleagues is our primary concern, and we are working closely with authorities to ensure our people and operations remain secure. It would not be appropriate to comment further at this time.”

The statement was read out during a Sky News broadcast this afternoon.

Earlier today, RTÉ decided to evacuate staff after receiving a similar security threat and other Irish newsrooms along with Bulgaria’s Nova TV also reported an incident appearing to follow the same pattern.

RTÉ Deputy Director General Adrian Lynch told the channel’s News at One program that he and Director General Kevin Bakhurst had been informed of a threat, and the decision was made to “put staff safety first” and evacuated the broadcaster’s Dublin office.

“We took this threat very seriously and I have to say it’s extremely sinister, and it’s also very sinister that this happened to a number of media organizations simultaneously,” added Lynch.

RTE has said its email threat came from the same group that has been issuing bomb threats to passenger airlines this week, with the sender naming themselves “Mikhail Andropov.” The identity of the sender has not yet been verified.