The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released a Private Industry Notification (PIN) to warn entities associated with the February 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and March 2022 Paralympics that malicious cyber actors could use a broad range of cyber activities to disrupt these events.
The PIN warning includes activities such as distributed denial-of-service attacks, ransomware, malware, social engineering, data theft or leaks, phishing campaigns, disinformation campaigns, and insider threats.
Additionally, the FBI PIN warns Olympic participants and travelers of potential threats associated with mobile applications developed by untrusted vendors. The FBI urges all athletes to keep their personal cell phone at home and use a temporary phone while attending the events.
The National Olympic Committees in some Western countries are also advising their athletes to leave personal devices at home or use temporary phones due to cybersecurity concerns at the Games.
The FBI to date is not aware of any specific cyber threat against the Olympics, but encourages partners to remain vigilant and maintain best practices in their network and digital environments.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) encourages all travelers to the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics to review the PIN and apply the recommendations.
