The security warnings regarding the cyber safety of the Paris Olympic Games have proven prescient. French authorities have confirmed that the nation faced more than 140 cyberattacks throughout the duration of the Olympic competitions, spanning from July 26th to August 11th this year. Despite the significant number of attempts, the Games remained uninterrupted by these digital threats.
Cyber Assaults Target Transport and Telecom Infrastructure
Prior to the starting of the Olympics, France was on high alert for such cyber activities. The primary concern centered around the ticketing and transportation systems. In the aftermath, cybersecurity agency Agence Nationale de la Sécurité des Systèmes d’Information (ANSSI) recorded 119 incidents, detailing low-impact ‘security events,’ alongside 22 incidents where a ‘malicious agent’ successfully breached the information systems.
Many of these incidents were downtime events, a portion of which were caused by denial-of-service(DoS) attacks designed to overwhelm servers. The cyberattacks predominantly focused on government entities, as well as sports facilities, transportation, and telecommunications infrastructure, according to reports from Tech Xplore.
Ransomware Strikes During Olympic Events
French officials disclosed that one-third of the attacks involved downtime incidents, half of which were due to attempts to overwhelm servers. The remaining cyber incidents included attempts at data compromise and unauthorized data dissemination, among others.
Notably, the Grand Palais, which hosted several Olympic events in Paris, along with approximately 40 other museums in France, fell victim to a ransomware attack in early August. However, this did not impact any of the information systems related to the Olympic Games.
The olympics, however, are no strangers to cyber attacks. In the Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed due to the pandemic and took place in 2021, officials documented approximately 450 million cyber incidents, a number that doubled from the figure recorded during the 2012 London Olympic Games. Anticipating the Paris Olympics, Marie-Rose Bruno, who serves as the director for technology and information systems for the Parisian event, expressed his prediction that they would confront “eight to 10 times more” cyber assaults compared to those encountered in Tokyo.
As the digital landscape evolves, the sophistication and frequency of cyberattacks on large-scale events like the Olympics are expected to increase. The French cybersecurity response to these incidents serves as a testament to the importance of robust cyber defense strategies in protecting national infrastructure and global events.
Source: France24, Techmonitor
