FBI Urges Athletes, Audiences to Use Temporary Phones For Upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics; Cites Potential Cyberattack

Joseph Henry, Tech Times 01 February 2022, 01:02 am

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a warning to all the people who will attend the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics this month. The announcement also covered the 2022 Paralympics which will take place in March.

According to the agency, there's a possibility that a huge cyberattack will take place. It cited that it would investigate further for these potential threat actors that might disrupt the sports events.

FBI Cautions People to Become Vigilant For Olympics Cyberattack

FBI Urges Athletes, Audiences to Use Temporary Phones For Upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics; Cites Potential Cyberattack

(Photo : Al Bello/Getty Images)
YANGJIAKOU, CHINA - FEBRUARY 01: A Beijing 2020 logo is seen on the Cross-Country course during the Cross-Country Skiing training session ahead of Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games at The National Cross-Country Skiing Centre on February 01, 2022 in Beijing, China.

According to a report by Nikkei Asia, the US law enforcement agency announced on Tuesday, Feb. 1 that it urged its partners to be careful regarding digital and network practices.

Although the FBI admitted that it was not aware of any Olympic cyber threat, it's best to inform the public about this matter.

The agency wrote in TLP: WHITE PIN that the potential malware actors that could affect the Beijing Winter Olympics could pose some damage to the systems and users. To add, it said that phishing scams, distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, and malware delivery might be encountered in such cases.

On top of that, the whole sports event might be interrupted by a system breach. This would mean that hackers could have access to the confidential information in the systems.

The cyberattack would also impact the digital infrastructure of the Olympics. Problems such as the inability to broadcast a live event or receive a signal are the most common consequences of this cyber incident.

Other Incidents of Cyberattacks During Olympics

This was not the first time that the FBI warned the public about a cyberattack during the Olympics. Back in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, it warned the people about these scenarios.

Prior to the contest proper, some information was stolen in May 2021. Fujitsu confirmed this attack that compromised several data of government clients.

Two years ago, the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics also did not escape the wrath of the hackers. However, the Department of Justice managed to charge six intelligence operatives under the Main Intelligence Directorate. The department alleged that the members belonged to the Sandworm hacking group.

My 2022 App Poses Privacy Concerns

Last month, Tech Times reported that authorities spotted two security flaws in the official Chinese Olympics app "My2022." At that time, Citizen Lab released a report that these vulnerabilities might expose users' data to cybercriminals.

Moreover, the cybersecurity researchers also found out that this application could store a lot of confidential information including the user's location, passport details, demographic data, and more.

However, the Chinese officials responded that the data collection is mandatory per the app's policy on privacy, per Bleeping Computer. This process is required because it would be used for navigation, COVID-19 mitigation, and other services.

FBI said that press members, viewers, and athletes should refrain from using their personal phones during the Winter Olympics. When using the MY 2022 app, they should use burner phones for safety and privacy, according to the agency.

Elsewhere, experts believed that China-sponsored hackers were behind the wide-scale Log4j exploit.

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Written by Joseph Henry