UPDATED 04:43 EDT / JUNE 09 2016

NEWS

France launches terror alert app for Euro 2016 finals

The government of France has released a new terror alert app ahead of the Euro 2016 soccer championship finals, designed to warn users of imminent attacks, threats and other dangers.

Called SAIP ((Système d’alerte et d’information des populations), the app was released just two days before the Euro 2016 finals kick off on June 10, when host nation France plays Romania. The tournament is the biggest European Championship finals ever, and French authorities have launched an unprecedented security operation to ensure the games go off without a hitch.

French officials have every reason to be worried. The Stade de France stadium in Saint-Denis, Paris, was one of the main targets in the infamous November 2015 Paris attacks, which saw ISIS-affiliated terrorists kill 130 people in a wave of suicide bombings and shootings. Those attacks were the culmination of a series of terrorist incidents on French soil in recent months too, which included the January 2015 attacks on the Charlie Hebdo offices and a Jewish supermarket in Paris that killed 17 people. And just three days ago, on June 6, security services in the Ukraine arrested a French national whom they said was planning multiple terror attacks during the event. The BBC reported that the man had guns, detonators and approximately 275 pounds of explosives in his possession.

So soccer fans will be pleased to know the French security forces have their backs. Available for both Android and iOS devices, the SAIP app works by turning a user’s phone screen bright red and flashing the word “Alert” if an incident occurs. Thankfully it doesn’t make the phone vibrate or emit any sound, just in case the user happens to be hiding from a crazed, machine gun-wielding terrorist. Click on the alert notice and users can read a brief description of what the incident is, then view official guidance by clicking on the “how to act” button that appears on-screen.

Users can set up the app to receive alerts only in specific neighborhoods too. So, for example, parents can set up the app to receive alerts only from the location where their children are. There shouldn’t be many false alarms either, as alerts will only be issued with authorization from the French Interior Ministry.

Anyone considering visiting France to watch the Euro 2016 finals should be aware that the U.S. State Department issued a Europe Travel Alert on May 31, pointing out that there remains a “risk of potential terrorist attacks throughout Europe, targeting major events, tourist sites, restaurants, commercial centers and transportation.”


A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:

Your vote of support is important to us and it helps us keep the content FREE.

One click below supports our mission to provide free, deep, and relevant content.  

Join our community on YouTube

Join the community that includes more than 15,000 #CubeAlumni experts, including Amazon.com CEO Andy Jassy, Dell Technologies founder and CEO Michael Dell, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, and many more luminaries and experts.

“TheCUBE is an important partner to the industry. You guys really are a part of our events and we really appreciate you coming and I know people appreciate the content you create as well” – Andy Jassy

THANK YOU