Cyber Risks at the Sochi Olympics

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People interested in attending the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi are advised to take extra precautions to protect themselves from cyber attacks during the events, according to Lysa Myers, a cybersecurity expert.

“The most important thing is that the people behind the Olympics are already well aware of the risks, but the attendees are not necessarily aware of all of the risks that they are being exposed to,” she explains.

Government Security News reports that Myers is a security analyst at ESET, an anti-virus company based in Slovakia that provides anti-malware and anti-phishing software solutions for mobile devices, desktops, and laptops. ESET is one of the leading providers of anti-virus software throughout Western Europe; it also has locations across North America, Latin America, and Asia.

“There was actually a denial of service attack that hit the Olympics website during the 2012 London Olympics and cybercriminals threatened to turn off the lights during the opening event,” Lisa explains.

iHLS – Israel Homeland Security

According to a report from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), a denial of service attack is designed to prevent a user from being able to access a service or information on a website by flooding the server with too many network requests at once.

A July 2013 article in the Washington Times reveals that there was a significant cybersecurity threat during the 2012 London Olympic Games. “There was a credible [threat of] attack on the electricity infrastructure supporting the Games,” said Oliver Hoare, head of Olympic cybersecurity.

In an October 2012 article published by Computer Weekly, Gerry Pennell, the CIO of the 2012 London Olympics, stated, “we were attacked every day.” He explained, “we prepared for this well in advance so it didn’t cause us any problems.”

Myers explains that “This is a very contentious situation due to its location in Russia and authorities are planning to protect themselves from cyber attacks.” The reason why the location of the 2014 Olympic Games makes it an even greater potential target is because “there are few opportunities for gainful employment for many technology workers located across Eastern Europe and when crime pays more, there tends to be more of it.”