A Finnish cybersecurity firm, WithSecure, has warned that the upcoming Paris Olympics are likely to face a surge in cyber threats, particularly from Russian entities.
According to their latest study released on Monday, WithSecure's experts anticipate heightened risks compared to past Games, attributing this to current geopolitical uncertainties.
The report highlights Russia as the primary source of concern for cyberattacks during the event. WithSecure identifies three main groups poised to disrupt the Games: state-backed actors, private "hacktivists" and conventional cybercriminals.
"Russian state actors almost certainly pose the greatest threat to a successful and seamless Olympic Games, wielding both capability and intent to undermine both the Olympics and France," the report said.
Russian and Belarusian athletes are only allowed to compete in the Paris Olympics under a neutral flag due to Moscow's war on Ukraine. They have also been excluded from participating in the opening ceremony and are not allowed to have any military connection.
WithSecure also sees an increased risk of cyberattacks from state-sponsored actors in China, North Korea and Iran. The experts also point to hacker groups and organized cybercriminals outside Russia as potential risk factors.
The attackers' primary goal will be to breach the organizers' networks to encrypt data and disrupt the event, the experts believe.
Hacktivist collectives, usually forming in Telegram channels, often focus on denial-of-service attacks, flooding websites with requests to bring them down.
"Hacktivist groups have arisen around all poles of current conflicts," the experts said. "Pro-Russian, pro-Ukrainian, pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups are conducting near-constant denial-of-service attacks and hack-and-leak operations."
According to the study, the Olympics' core networks are well-protected against cyberattacks, meaning the risk of disruption is low to moderate.
"However, the risk to other networks operating externally, but still in the sphere of the Olympics, is moderate."
