Russian hackers have successfully disrupted each of the Olympic Games since 2016, which was the year when Russia was suspended from full participation. In 2016, they leaked private medical records of American stars like Simone Biles and Serena Williams. In 2018, they shut off online ticketing during the Olympics’ opening ceremony in South Korea.
No organization has yet offered definitive public evidence that Russia trying to disrupt this years Olympics, but governments and cybersecurity experts around the world are still on the edge of their seats.
Cybersecurity has of course been a growing concern over the recent years for Olympic host nations. Learning from the past, Japan decided to be proactive. Last October, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) identified cybersecurity as a priority area and announced plans to heavily invest to provide the best cyber-secure environment for the games.
The International Olympic Committee will not be disclosing the specific details of their cybersecurity plan due to the nature of the topic. Given the increase in cyber threats and attacks in recent years, Japan started a bilateral collaboration with new countries and strengthened its current partnerships. For example, Japan has worked heavily with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on how to improve its cybersecurity in preparation for Tokyo 2020.
A review of Japan’s cybersecurity strategy for Tokyo 2020 showed that Japan has limited it's capacity of in-house cybersecurity professionals down to only 28%. This is significantly lower than the 65.4% in the United States, 61.4% in Germany, and 53.9% in the United Kingdom. To solve this issue, Japan trained 220 ethical hackers earlier this year in hopes to create a more secure Tokyo 2020.
It’s possible that the Tokyo Games are already disrupted enough by the coronavirus that Russia won’t be interested. Many in Japan are opposed to hosting the Games during a pandemic; spectators are banned for fear of spreading the disease. Russia may leave it alone this year, stated John Hultquist, the director of threat intelligence at the cybersecurity company Mandiant.
Regardless of if Russia plans to attack the Olympics this year, Japan is seemingly ready for it. With a multitude of joint efforts and cyber security precautions the Tokyo Olympics would be a tremendously hard feat for any assailant.