Key facts
- The Prime Minister's office said buildings should not be evacuated without concrete elements beyond receipt of a mass email suggesting genuine danger.
- About 6,300 schools received bomb threats on November 11, and many closed immediately as parents collected children.
- Rome police said further threat reports on November 12 were on a smaller scale and there was nothing to substantiate them.
- Opposition leaders said after the meeting it was up to the government to propose measures, and criticized cybersecurity spending.
- Authorities in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland classified similar emailed threats as hoaxes and kept classes open.
Italy's government said on November 12, 2026 that it 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.
The decision followed a day of disruption. On November 11, 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 targeted schools, supermarkets, blood banks, air traffic systems and broadcasters across Europe. Many schools closed immediately after receiving the warnings, and parents rushed to collect their children.
More alarms were reported on November 12, and some schools were again shut down. Police in Rome said reports of threats had been received from a number of schools, on a smaller scale than the day before, and that there was nothing to substantiate them.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called opposition leaders to her office for a two-hour meeting on how to deal with similar incidents. The Prime Minister's office said 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.
Some European officials suspect Russia may be behind a campaign of disruption in European nations supporting Ukraine. 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 meeting, opposition leaders from the center and left said it was up to the government to come forward with proposals, but criticized Meloni over what they described as inadequate investment in cybersecurity. Matteo Renzi, leader of the centrist Italia Viva party, said: "Yesterday's alarm could have been dealt with using a good antivirus programme." Elly Schlein, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, said: "We need stronger coordination among the bodies responsible for cybersecurity, and we have proposed shifting part of the available resources towards cyber defences."
Italy was not the only country targeted. 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. Nicola Fratoianni of the Green-Left Alliance said the opposition asked why Irish authorities had warned schools in advance to remain open.