Panic at the Olympics: all are threatened by hackers

Experts warned of the threat of cyberattacks during the Olympics-2018

Opening ceremony of the Olympics in South Korean Pyeongchang, February 9, 2018

The US Department of Homeland Security has asked to observe the vigilance of those American citizens who went to Pyeongchang for the Olympic Games - there is reason to believe that cybercriminals can attack sports events in South Korea. Why is the Olympics so attractive to hackers and what can happen in the worst case

Suspects already found

Information security experts said more than 300 systems, somehow connected with the Olympics in Pyeongchang, were attacked by cybercriminals last month, and many of them were compromised, reports The New York Times.

Analysts of the anti-virus company McAfee called it a "preparatory campaign". They noticed that on February 9th the attackers managed to extract data from the compromised computers of the victims, which could mean the early start of the second phase of the hacker attack.

It will take months before you can talk about who exactly is behind the breaking of the Olympic Games, but experts have already noted the professional approach and the large amount of cybercrime money resources. It is possible that this is the work of the so-called "state hackers", which are sponsored at the highest level. By a kind of "tradition", the Western world is most feared by hackers from Russia, China and North Korea.

By the way, the last country causes most of all questions.

Despite the fact that thanks to diplomatic efforts, the level of threat from the DPRK has slightly decreased, experts do not exclude that it is the North Koreans who will somehow spoil the sports festival of their closest neighbors.

"One thing we know for sure - in this context, it can not be expected that North Korea will behave well. In recent years, they have been proving again and again that they are not afraid to violate international norms and introduce an element of chaos, "said the head of the department of threats FireEye John Khaltqvist.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia also fears possible accusations against the Kremlin related to hacker attacks on information resources during the Olympics in South Korea.

"Now in this information war, a new stage has emerged. This time, they want to give an unjustified attack against us even more ambitious: Russia is going to be accused of attacking the ideals of the Olympic movement, "the Foreign Ministry said.

Such fears can not be called baseless - previously the hacker group Fancy Bear, suspected of having ties with Russia, was in absentia named one of the main problems of the 2018 Olympic Games.

While there is no exact information, exactly how hackers will be able to use the information received. Nevertheless, in modern conditions of universal digitalization, the Olympic Games become an attractive target for cyber-fraudsters - they can try to steal personal information of organizers or athletes, then use them for their own purposes, for example, for blackmail or extortion.

The representative of the International Olympic Committee refused to comment on NYT on how the organization intends to confront cyberthreats.

To bring chaos and discord

The cyberattacks at international events have ceased to be something out of the ordinary. In 2015, at the nuclear talks in Geneva and in 2009 at the climate conference in Copenhagen, experts recorded increased hacking activity directed at the participants of the event.

The Olympic Games are in the same category with similar global events. When assessing possible risks, cybersecurity experts suggest that, according to the worst-case scenario

The hackers will try to intervene in the course of the competition for the purpose of disturbing the order - for example, falsify the results on the electronic scoreboard or turn off the lighting system at the stadium.

The director of the department for research of threats Avast Michal Salat confirmed to "Gazeta.ru" that hackers can use the excitement around the Olympic Games. "First of all, be more careful about different mailings - attackers can send phishing messages with fake tickets to the competition. Also, there may be a growing number of thematic fake mobile applications that will download malicious adware or spyware, "Salat noted.

The expert added that major international events, such as the Winter Olympic Games, gather influential and popular people from around the world, so it's no surprise that cybercriminals can attack the devices and networks used at the event with the help of APT attacks (targeted cyber attacks - Gazeta. Ru) or remote management tools

In addition, we must not forget about the method of social engineering, when hackers fraudulently, for example, through correspondence in a chat room, can receive critical information from employees of enterprises or, in this case, the organizers of the Games, told "Gazeta.ru" technical director Check Point Software Technologies in Russia and the CIS Nikita Durov.

"Another vector of attack is the infrastructure at the event. Ticketing, engineering infrastructure in the stadiums, control of the broadcast media, as well as many devices connected to the Internet, including wearable devices of athletes, sensors, cameras that record the course of the competition and the results - all this can be attacked. Hacking of these devices and systems can affect the results and results of the competition, "Durov said.

However, hacking of such systems is an order of magnitude more difficult for hackers, since information systems at the Olympic Games have serious comprehensive protection, and organizers take all measures to avoid such incidents.