The Paris Olympics are expected to face significant cyber threats

With the Paris Olympic games approaching, security experts are warning of a high risk of targeted cyber attacks. These threats could range from disruptive and destructive operations to espionage, financial threats, information operations, and hacktivism. Such cyber incidents have the potential to affect various aspects of the Paris infrastructure, event sponsors, ticketing systems, athletes, and spectators.

Thomas Richards, a Principal Consultant at Synopsys Inc, explains, “As a major international event, the Olympics attract a lot of attention and not without controversy. This makes it a target for activists, criminal organizations, and even nation states. Potential attackers may aim to disrupt the events or manipulate results. To counter DDoS attacks, it is crucial to prevent common attack patterns and establish a distributed and resilient network. Additionally, all Olympic employees should receive regular training to detect and prevent phishing attacks, while central networking closets should be secured with advanced measures like biometrics.”

Learning from past security incidents at previous Olympic games, many believe that the security community is now better prepared to handle and mitigate cyber risks. Nonetheless, it is important for all involved parties to stay vigilant against potential cyber threats, particularly those related to mobile apps.

“The Olympic Games App is anticipated to be downloaded by millions worldwide, making it an attractive target for malicious actors looking to exploit vulnerabilities for various purposes,” says Kelvin Lim, a Senior Director at Synopsys Inc. “With the spike in cyber threats during the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, it is crucial for developers to prioritize good application security practices and leverage AppSec tools to identify and address any vulnerabilities before releasing the App to the public.”