Cybercriminals will also be vying for gold when the Milano Cortina Winter Games start on February 6. Experts caution that everything is possible, from ransomware and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks similar to those French authorities encountered during the 2024 Olympics to Wi-Fi and digital infrastructure disruptions similar to those observed at the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang. Cyber espionage with ties to the state may also be involved.

Innumerable Winter Games Opportunities Cyberattacks According to a threat assessment by Palo Alto Networks' Unit 42 research team, a number of factors, including the enormous concentration of people, systems, money, and data on the ground, will pique attackers' interest in the Games.

"They create instability through disruption, undermining their targets—ostensibly those who commit corporate crime, violate human rights, destroy the environment, etc." Expect their efforts to show up as scandalous or embarrassing data leaks, DDoS attacks, doxxing of influential people, and website defacement or hijacking. Bad actors at the Games will probably use phishing and social engineering scams, which are aided by AI and deepfakes, to gain initial access.

According to Palo Alto, adversaries will pretend to be partner organizations, regulators, or other reliable entities connected to the Winter Olympics in order to make the scams look authentic. It should be noted that major sporting events have long been the target of AI-enabled attacks.