Japan's False 9.9 Earthquake Alert Was Not a Cyberattack

Japan's Meteorological Agency issued an emergency alert for a magnitude 9.9 earthquake on Friday and withdrew it eight minutes later. The actual quake, magnitude 6.9, struck near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, hundreds of miles from Japan. It was the first emergency earthquake warning ever withdrawn in the country, and officials say it was not a cyberattack.

• The 9.9-magnitude alert went out at 12:40 p.m. local time and was retracted 8 minutes later
• The real quake, magnitude 6.9, hit near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula
• JMA is investigating whether a formula for domestic quakes was applied to a distant event
• It is the first emergency earthquake warning ever withdrawn in Japan