Olympic Games 2024: Paris Braces for the Biggest Digital Battle in History
According to Bruno Marie-Rose, Chief Technology Officer of Paris 2024, the Paris Olympic Games could be the target of billions of cyberattacks, eight to ten times more than the Tokyo Games. These threats are heightened by the cyber war in Ukraine, which increases the risk of attacks by Russian-backed groups.
It is important to stress that the Olympic Games are one of the most attacked events in the world. The Games' information systems, which include real-time results transmission, image broadcasting, and the accreditation of athletes, teams and officials, are at the heart of these attacks.
During the Tokyo Games in 2021, there were 450 million attacks, already eight times more than in Rio in 2016. However, none of these attacks had any impact on the Games, thanks to robust security measures, as Christophe Thivet, Atos's director of technology integration for the 2024 Olympics, pointed out.
The Games' technology leaders anticipate several types of attack. Firstly, hackers could try to steal the organisers' data, including login credentials. They could also look for security flaws in systems that are already installed. There is also a risk of data hijacking, such as the creation of fake ticket-selling websites.
To spot these vulnerabilities, Atos, which is responsible for the Games' cybersecurity and is a sponsor of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), uses several strategies. These include employing ethical hackers, carrying out penetration tests, running "bug bounty" programmes (bug hunts), simulating attacks and monitoring the dark web to find out whether cybercriminal groups are talking about the Olympics.
The cybersecurity centre of Atos, which has several dozen experts and is based in France, is supported by the French national cybersecurity agency (ANSSI).
The war in Ukraine heightens the risk of attacks by pro-Russian groups. Officials also admit that the Olympics are a target for geopolitical propaganda. The decision on whether Russian athletes will take part could call for increased vigilance.
The most alarming scenario would be attacks causing an interruption or disruption of the competitions. Marie-Rose recalls the 2018 incident at the Pyeongchang Olympics, where a few systems were shut down before the opening ceremony, and insists that they do not want this to happen again in Paris.
Finally, the Olympics are a prime target for hackers, whether to extort money or to spread geopolitical messages. The construction phase, with many external contractors who do not always have the same security policy, is particularly vulnerable.
The exponential increase in cyberattacks against the Olympic Games poses a major challenge for the organisers of Paris 2024. However, robust security measures are being put in place to ensure the Games run smoothly and to protect the data of athletes, officials and spectators. Vigilance is essential, but preparations to counter these threats are well on track.
Sources: France24, Le Figaro, L'Express, The Guardian, The Washington Post, Der Spiegel, El País.