US counterspy warns World Cup travellers of Russian hackers
WASHINGTON: , The top United States counterintelligence official is advising Americans going to Russia for football’s World Cup starting this week that they should not take electronic devices because they are likely to be hacked by criminals or the Russian Government.
In a statement, William Evanina, an FBI agent and the director of the US National Counterintelligence and Security Centre, warned World Cup travellers even if they thought they were insignificant, hackers could still target them.
‘‘If you’re planning on taking a mobile phone, laptop, PDA, or other electronic device with you — make no mistake — any data on those devices (especially personally identifiable information) may be accessed by the Russian Government or cyber criminals,’’ he said.
‘‘Don’t assume you’re too insignificant to be targeted,’’ Evanina added. ‘‘If you can do without the device, don’t take it. If you must take one, take a different device from your usual one and remove the battery when not in use.’’
Another US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said British security agencies had issued similar warnings to the British public and the England football team.
In a statement, Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre said it was ‘‘providing expert cyber security advice to the Football Association ahead of their departure to Russia for the 2018 Fifa World Cup.’’
The NCSC, a branch of the Government Communications Headquarters, Britain’s electronic eavesdropping agency, also issued a public warning.
Private cyber security expert Patrick Wardle said the official warnings constituted ‘‘really good advice. When I travel to Russia, I bring ‘burner’ devices, so if they get hacked, it doesn’t really matter.’’
A burner device is typically bought for temporary use, then thrown away. — Reuters