Organizers at the Paris Olympics are expecting a wave of cyberattacks to target the Games when the sporting extravaganza kicks off in earnest this weekend.
Researchers have noted that some attacks have already started, with Russia-affiliated hackers suspected to be behind the nefarious efforts, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
Russia is technically banned from the Paris Olympics following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, though a small group of Russian athletes are expected to compete as “Individual Neutral Athletes.”
Around 500 companies, organizations, and facilities have been identified as being vital for the smooth operation of the Paris Olympics, and France’s cybersecurity agency, ANSSI, has been working with them to shore up their systems in preparation for any cyberattacks that might come their way.
Working with ANSSI is the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), with intelligence sharing helping to bolster efforts to protect the Olympics against any unwanted cyber intrusions.
But the Bloomberg report points out that cybersecurity experts have concerns about the ability of so-called “soft targets,” such as hotels, restaurants, and other facilities supporting the Summer Games, to withstand cyberattacks.
There have already been some recent sports-focused, cyber-related shenanigans in France in what tech experts see as a dry run for the main event. A social media account belonging to France’s sports minister, for example, was hacked a couple of months ago, and last month fraudsters launched a number of fake ticketing websites that have now been removed.
It certainly wouldn’t be the first time for hackers to use the global sporting event to attempt to wreak havoc. At the 2018 Winter Games in South Korea, for example, perpetrators brought down the online ticketing system and also the stadium Wi-Fi during the event’s opening ceremony.
“No one can pretend to be 100% ready,” Eric Greffier, business and technology director at Cisco Systems France, an official partner of the Games, told Bloomberg. “At best you’re 99% ready and you want to look for the 1% where you’re not. You know what you know, and unfortunately, you don’t know what you don’t know.”
