The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, have had their fair share of problems leading up to and during the games including unsold tickets, green swimming pools, the Zika virus and more. However, one daunting issue they have successfully prevented is a major cybersecurity breach.
According to Business Insider, a report from August 2, 2016, showed that the volume of malicious and phishing artifacts in Brazil is on the rise. Moreover, the country saw an 83 percent increase in malicious URLs, compared to a mere 16 percent worldwide, and Brazil has been attacked by phishing attempts more than any other country, with the main targets being workers at the Olympic games.
However, that doesn’t mean that everyone else is safe. Reports from the Kaspersky Lab showed that “roughly one in four wireless Internet access points likely to be used by tourists were highly vulnerable to cyber attacks.” Companies who are traveling to the games, specifically sponsor companies, are at high-risk for identity theft, compromised credit card information and other threats to confidential information on employee devices.
Needless to say, ensuring that no major cybersecurity attacks have been successful was no easy feat. Symantec, the firm responsible for providing cybersecurity for Rio 2016, has been proactively gearing up for the 2016 Olympics since the 2012 Olympics in London concluded, according to the Huffington Post. A key problem with this year’s games is that threats aren’t only coming from criminals, but also insider threats, terrorists, politically-inclined hackers and even nation states that could leverage the Olympics as a platform to have their voices heard. With about a week left for the 2016 Olympics, the focus shifts to Tokyo 2020.
