Paris Olympics: could Russian hackers ruin Games? French cyberwarriors working in secret to prevent major incident
- Cyberwarriors will be crucial to the success of the Games as they aim to thwart attacks from criminals, hacktivists and state-level operatives
- The head of France’s cybersecurity agency says the threat facing the 2024 Games is unprecedented
Just like the Olympic athletes, the cyberwarriors that will be crucial for the success of the Paris Games are deep into training for the big event.
They have turned to friendly hackers to probe their cyberdefences, like boxers who use sparring partners to ready them for a championship fight.
They have studied and analysed the strengths, tactics and weaknesses of their opponents. Those could be anyone from teenage show-offs and ransomware gangs to Russian military hackers with a track record of malicious cyberattacks.
But unlike the 10,500 Olympians who will converge on France’s capital in July, the cybersecurity engineers behind the Games are hoping to stay out of the spotlight.
For them, the equivalent of a medal will be getting through the Olympics – and Paralympics – without a major incident.
It would mean that their layers of digital defences stand up to attempts to paralyse computer and information systems vital for the Games.