US says Russians led WADA cyberattack
US INTELLIGENCE officials have determined that the 2016 cyberattacks on the World Anti-Doping Agency originated with the Russian government, perpetrated in apparent retaliation for what President Vladimir Putin of Russia deemed to be a US-led effort to defame Russia for widespread doping.
That conclusion was published on Friday in a declassified intelligence report ordered by President Barack Obama.
The report centred on Russia’s efforts to affect the 2016 US presidential election at Putin’s direction, while also re- ferring to Russia’s related “influence efforts against targets such as Olympic athletes and other foreign governments”.
“A prominent target since the 2016 Summer Olympics has been the World Anti-Doping Agency,” the report said.
WADA, the global regulator of drugs in sports, commissioned numerous investigations into systematic Russian doping last year.
In July, the agency recommended that Russia be barred from the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro for its statesponsored doping program, which persisted for years and spanned disciplines.
Weeks later, the regulator discovered its database containing the private medical information of international athletes had been breached.
A group identifying itself as Fancy Bear – a Russian cyberespionage group that forensics experts had tied to the Russian government – published the records of athletes who had received special clearance to take typically banned substances for medical reasons.
Paint the US hypocritical
In Friday’s report, US intelligence officials concluded that the Fancy Bear hacking had originated with Russia’s main military intelligence unit, the GRU, which had also begun working to influence the US election in March.
Many of the records stolen from the doping regulator related to US athletes, including Simone Biles, the gymnast who won numerous medals in Rio, and tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams.
The release of the records was an apparent attempt to discredit the athletes and paint the United States as hypocritical, Friday’s report stated.
On Friday, Catherine MacLean, a spokeswoman for the anti-doping agency, pointed to the organisation’s state- ment in September condemning the criminal activity and noted that the agency had “asked the Russian government to do everything in their power to make it stop”.
Russian news media and sports officials have repeatedly invoked the stolen records in recent months, arguing that they are evidence of legalised doping and what they perceive to be the preferential treatment of Western athletes.
Regulators and Olympic officials have repeatedly defended the affected athletes, noting that they followed proper procedure and received formal clearance.