Source: AFP
The head of France’s national cyber security agency said the Paris Olympics would be a “target” this year, including by foreign states interested in “disrupting the opening ceremony or causing problems in public transport”.
The warning from Vincent Strubel, director general of France’s Cyber Security Agency (ANSSI), comes amid strained diplomatic relations between France and Russia over the war in Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron’s comments last month that Western troops could be sent to Ukraine have sparked anger in Moscow, which French authorities have blamed for previous disinformation and hacking campaigns.
“Clearly the Olympics will be a target,” Strubel told AFP in an interview on Tuesday. “We are preparing for all types of attacks — everything we see on a daily basis, but larger, more numerous and more frequent,” he added.
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/94ce186cd44dc1b0.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/94ce186cd44dc1b0.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
Read also
Labor crisis forces Croatia to open doors to Asian workforce
These included “attacks from states that want to stop the Games because they are not happy for one reason or another and that may try to disrupt the opening ceremony or cause problems in public transport”, he said on the sidelines of a cyber security event in Lille , northern France.
Source: AFP
Russia also accused the International Olympic Committee of “racism and neo-Nazism” after Russian athletes were barred from the opening ceremony of the Paris Games that begin on July 26.
Russian athletes have been largely excluded from the sport, with only a handful of competitors expected to qualify as “neutral”.
Strubel said state-sponsored cyberattacks were one of the three main risks, with the others being cybercriminals trying to extort money during the Olympics as well as “hacktivist” hackers trying to cause trouble for fun. or publicity.
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/d2cdb683e5839a36.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/d2cdb683e5839a36.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
Read also
California looks to Europe to rein in artificial intelligence
“For me, the worst-case scenario is that we find ourselves inundated with small-scale attacks and that we don’t expect a more serious attack targeting critical transport or energy infrastructure that will play a vital role during the Games,” he told AFP.
Last Olympics
ANSSI, founded in 2009, is France’s main state cyber security agency, tasked with preventing, detecting and responding to attacks.
Japanese telecommunications company NTT, which provided IT security for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics delayed by the pandemic, reported 450 million individual cyber attacks during the last edition of the Games, twice as many as at the Olympics in London in 2012.
Many of these were so-called DDoS attacks, which paralyze the servers hosting a website, as well as hacking attempts, email spoofing, phishing attacks or fake websites.
Source: AFP
Russian military intelligence has been accused by the US of releasing the so-called “Olympic Destroyer” malware shortly before the opening ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics in South Korea, from which Russian athletes were banned.
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/3b4d977c0617e5fa.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/3b4d977c0617e5fa.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
Read also
Baltimore bridge collapse sparks baseless attack theories
The malware wiped data from thousands of computers supporting the Pyeongchang Games, rendering them inoperable.
Other experts have suggested that the electronic ticketing system for the Paris Games or IT networks for sports venues or the results system could be targets.
A severe financial crisis has engulfed France’s leading IT and cyber security services company Atos, just as it prepares to play a critical role during the Games.
The debt-ridden conglomerate, whose shares have lost about 90% of their value since last July, has been the International Olympic Committee’s main technology partner since 2002 and is a critical cyber security provider for the Paris Games.
“Obviously we are taking extra care, which is evident in our audits of the Atos systems that will be used for the Games and other critical systems,” Strubel said. “And in the very regular meetings we have with the Atos teams to make sure there are no problems.
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/7ace3f20b4b21c37.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
![](https://images.yen.com.gh/images/7ace3f20b4b21c37.jpg?impolicy=cropped-image&imwidth=256)
Read also
Ukraine ready to license farm exports to appease Poland: Minister
“But we don’t see any right now, so don’t worry,” he added.
Source: AFP