Britain Accuses Russia Of Carrying Out Cyberattacks Against The 2020 Olympics

UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (Twitter / @ DominicRaab)

JAKARTA - The British government has accused GRU, Russia's military intelligence service of carrying out cyberattacks against officials and organizations involved in planning the 2020 Olympics. Britain has accused GRU of targeting the organizers, logistics services and sponsors of the sports event.

British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab condemned the GRU's actions. He said the GRU was doing something cynical and reckless. Not only the 2020 Olympics. In the statement, Dominic also accused the Russian body of targeting the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games in South Korea with cyber attacks.

"Britain for the first time today confirmed the extent to which the GRU is targeting the 2018 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea," said a statement from the government, quoted by CNN , Tuesday, October 20.

"The GRU cyber unit attempted to impersonate North Korean and Chinese hackers when targeting the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics."

Britain's National Cybersecurity Center assessed the attack and believed it was intended to sabotage matches. The conclusion was drawn because the malware used was "designed to erase data and disable computers and networks."

The British statement complements the major indictments announced in the US on Monday 19 October. Six Russian military officers have been charged by the US Department of Justice in what officials have described as hacking to attack several major foreign powers and former Soviet republics.

The alleged cyber attackers are also members of the GRU, accused of carrying out the cyber-attack on the 2018 Winter Olympics. US government officials say officers hacked the software using malware that damaged and blackened thousands of computers and caused nearly $ 1 billion in losses.

The attacks were intended to support the Russian government's efforts to damage, retaliate against, or destabilize computer networks around the world, the US Justice Department said. The Olympics are a popular target for cybercriminals.

In 2016, Russian hackers broke into the World Anti-Doping Agency database through an account created by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. The group stole information about famous American athletes such as Simone Biles and Venus Williams. In response to the widening range of threats, the IOC and host countries have stepped up cybersecurity efforts in recent years.

The British accusation of hacking by the Red Bear Country is not the first time this has happened. In July, the NCSC reported a hacking attempt by Russian intelligence to steal data on COVID-19 vaccine development around the world.

At that time, in addition to the hacking of COVID-19 data, Britain also accused Russia of trying to interfere in the 2019 Election by trying to spread propaganda documents via the internet. Dominic Raab said the action was completely unacceptable.