Cyprus's Ministry of Interior has acknowledged deficiencies in the civil defense shelter program and the SafeCY app, criticized in a recent Audit Office report, stating that improvement efforts have been underway for three years.

The SafeCY app, which has seen 170,000 downloads, has been upgraded to send urgent security alerts to citizens in emergencies, providing an additional measure for early warnings and urging users to take cover.

The safety of Cyprus’s residents has become a topic of public discussion following the outbreak of the war in the Middle East and the drone attack on the Akrotiri British Base.