The UK and the US authorities accused a group of Russian hackers & military intelligence, known as GRU, of planning a "cyber reconnaissance." The attack took place against the officials of the now-postponed Tokyo Olympics.
As the BBC reported, the attack took place sometime before the start of the Olympics. Russia has been accused to "pursue small tactical advantages as fits of spite" ahead of the Olympics & the Paralympic Games. Now, the competition has been delayed until 2021.
However, the officials did not explicitly address which type of attack did the attackers plan to detail. It's highly likely that the hackers are planning to sabotage the opening ceremony, ticketing system, broadcasters, officials, and sponsors.
What's Happening In Russia?
The British authority believes that the attack was a revenge effort following Word-Anti Doping's ban against Russia last year. The mass doping incident took place way back in 2015.
That said, several Russian athletes may still compete without their flag or anthem, as they did during the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. The ban will last for four years, as ABC reported.
Stanislav Pozdnyakov, the President of Russia's Olympic Committee, believed that the sanction was excessive and illogical.
"Of course, we are disappointed," Pozdnyakov said.
"But we initially assumed that the recommendations of the WADA Executive Committee would be approved without change, especially after the main points were made public."
WADA's sanction will remove Russia from the upcoming Tokyo Olympics in 2021, the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, and the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup.
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Not the First Time
Previously, the group also vowed to disturb the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, the 2017 French presidential poll, and Ukraine's power grid, as BBC reported. Up to this writing, the US Justice Department has filed charges against six current & former Russian military moguls.
Following the election in 2017, private emails of French president Emmanuel Macron were leaked to the public.
In South Korea, some fans could not print tickets for the ceremony due to an unstable internet connection caused by the hack. Several seats were left empty, which is not something good to see during the Winter Olympics.
In a press conference, the US attorney general John Demers said that no country had weaponized its cyber capability more than Russia. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab also condemned the attack against the Olympics' sponsors & organizers.
Tokyo Olympics will be postponed until summer 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic concern.
"To safeguard the health of the athletes and everyone involved in the Tokyo 2020 Games. The Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games will now take place no later than summer 2021," the official Tokyo2020 committee tweeted.
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