Zambian Business Times

Winter Olympics hit by cyber-attack

-

The official Winter Olympics website was taken offline after being hit by a cyber-attack, officials have confirmed.

The site was affected just before the beginning of the opening ceremony in Pyeongchan­g, South Korea.

TV and internet systems at the Games were also disrupted, though operations were restored about 12 hours later.

However, a spokesman said that the Internatio­nal Olympic Committee would not be commenting on who might have been behind the incident.

"Maintainin­g secure operations is our purpose," said Mark Adams.

He added that the issue was being dealt with but that he was not aware who had carried out the attack.

Russia responds

Prior to the Games, some cyber-security experts had expressed concern that countries like Russia and North Korea might try to target the event.

But the Russian Foreign Ministry has denied rumours that Russian hackers were involved.

"We know that Western media are planning pseudo-investigat­ions on the theme of 'Russian fingerprin­ts' in hacking attacks on informatio­n resources related to the hosting of the Winter Olympic Games in the Republic of Korea," the foreign ministry said.

"Of course, no evidence will be presented to the world."

There have been concerns for months that the Games and spectators could be targeted by cyber-attacks.

Earlier this month, the US Department of Homeland Security published a warning to travellers.

"At high-profile events, cyber-activists may take advantage of the large audience to spread their message," it said.

"There is also the possibilit­y that mobile or other communicat­ions will be monitored." The Pyeongchan­g Games are certainly not the first to be targeted by hackers.

In January, Konstantin­os Karagianni­s, BT's chief technology officer for security consulting, tweeted that during the 2012 London Olympics he and his team, "fought back quite a cyber-onslaught".

 ??  ?? The opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on Friday. Hackers who targeted the Pyeongchan­g Organizing Committee during the event had the ability to destroy computers, but didn’t.
The opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics on Friday. Hackers who targeted the Pyeongchan­g Organizing Committee during the event had the ability to destroy computers, but didn’t.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Zambia