Tokyo 2020 Olympics games suffer a data breach where login details and passwords of ticketholders have been leaked online, according to a statement by a Japanese government official.
Fujitsu, a Japanese tech giant and a major supplier for the 2020 Olympic Games had a data breach. Among the clients that were hacked are the Tokyo Olympics Organizing Committee and the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism.
According to the anonymous official, the stolen credentials of ticketholders were shared on volunteer websites. The official also told Kyodo news that these stolen credentials could be used to log on to websites for ticket holders and steal information like names, addresses, bank account numbers, and more.
With that being said, the data breach was not substantial, and the Japanese government has taken preventive measures for the dissemination of information in the future.
FBI Warning
FBI has been on high alert after the data breach. As a result, the FBI has issued a warning on the possibility of cyberattacks on the 2020 Tokyo Olympic games. These potential attacks include ransomware, distributed denial of service (DDoS), insider threats, and phishing campaigns.
According to the official FBI report:
“Malicious activity could disrupt multiple functions, including media broadcasting environments, hospitality, transit, ticketing, or security.”
The FBI has warned the companies hosting the event to maintain their security to avoid data breaches.
Japanese Government’s Response to Data Leaks
In order to protect against such cyberattacks, Japan formed a white hat hacking squad with 220+ hackers from top Japanese ICT firms. In February 2021, Mihoko Matsubara, chief cybersecurity strategist at NTT, said:
“the coronavirus pandemic has complicated methods of securing the event physically and digitally.”
The International Olympic Committee also claimed that it was frequently attacked during the Rio 2016 Olympic games. The athletes were also targeted with phishing emails to steal credentials.
Similarly, during the 2012 London Olympics, 6 major cyberattacks were also recorded, including a 40-minutes long DDoS attack on electricity infrastructure.
Tips for data protection while watching Tokyo 2020 Olympics Games Online
Cybersecurity has always been a major concern to Olympic games. Here are some data protection tips for online viewers to ensure privacy and security:
- Make sure to use a VPN to watch Olympics events online. A virtual private network (VPN) will encrypt your data, thus offering a high level of protection.
- Enable multi-factor authentication on all accounts.
- Make sure your device is up to date with all the latest security patches.
- Pay attention to the URL of the site you visit. Look for typos to identify fake emails and sites.
- Download an anti-malware on your device.
Follow these security tips and enjoy live streaming Tokyo 2020 Olympics events online safely.
