A recent study by ExtraHop reveals that ransomware attacks on the Paris 2024 Olympics are almost unavoidable. Over the past year, the IT infrastructure supporting the games has been a frequent target, with some incidents resulting in ransom payments totaling $2 million.
The scale of the event, featuring over 15,000 athletes competing in 54 sports and attracting millions of visitors, places immense pressure on the IT systems.
Cisco, the official security partner for Paris 2024 and also responsible for securing the Tokyo 2020 Games—which faced more than 450 million cyber-attacks—emphasizes the critical nature of the challenge.
Cyble, a cybersecurity firm, reported a significant rise in attacks on French Olympic websites between June and July 2024. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) identified two Russian-speaking hacking groups, “People’s Cyber Army” and “HackNet,” as responsible for these breaches.
While some attacks have been financially motivated through ransomware, others have been Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks intended to disrupt the event and cause chaos among organizers, athletes, and visitors.
Experts predict that future attacks will become increasingly sophisticated, leveraging phishing, social engineering, and advanced technologies such as Generative AI and deepfake techniques.
To combat these threats, the IOC has assembled a specialized Cyber Troop consisting of 15 military and civilian cybersecurity experts, working around the clock. This team is part of the larger 3,000-member COJOP staff dedicated to safeguarding France’s critical infrastructure.
Additional support is provided by ANSSI and other French state agencies, reinforcing the Cybersecurity Operations Center as needed. Both teams will remain active until the conclusion of the Olympics and Paralympics on September 8, 2024, after which their operations will be scaled down.
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