FBI warns US athletes participating in Beijing Olympics 2022 of 'malicious' cyberattacks

With Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 just around the corner, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Tuesday warned the US athletes participating in the event of “malicious” cyberattacks. Warning the entities associated with both Beijing Winter Olympics and March 2022 Paralympics, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) said in a statement that the FBI has called on the athletes not to use their personal cell phones and instead use a burner phone while attending the events. 

CISA said in a statement, “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. These activities include 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 travellers 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,” it added.

FBI cautioning US athletes came after last month US President Joe Biden’s administration announced a diplomatic boycott over China’s alleged human rights abuses. However, the athletes are still allowed to participate in the event. Earlier, human rights activists had also claimed that China is silencing critics domestically ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 scheduled to start on 4 February. 

According to human rights activists, Beijing is using arbitrary ways such as not letting the activists leave their houses and even putting them behind the bars ahead of the sporting event. These harsh measures taken by China are reportedly aimed to prevent any demonstrations, criticism or even condemnation of China related to human rights violations or others during the Games. 

US expects China to 'ensure safety & well-being' of American athletes 

Before the warning against cyberattacks during Beijing Olympics was published by the FBI, as Omicron is also raging across the world, Washington had stated that it expects China to “ensure safety & wellbeing” of its Us athletes. White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Monday was asked about US President Joe Biden’s concern over the safety of American athletes competing in the upcoming games, when she replied, “we are very focused on the safety of American athletes.”

Noting that the US has already announced it would not send a delegation to Beijing in the wake of China’s “ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang and other human rights abuses,” White House press secretary stated, “But in terms of athletes, we do everything possible to work in coordination with the U.S. Olympic Committee.”

Expressing the Biden administration’s support to US athletes, Psaki said that the US is providing consular and security services to its athletes, coaches, trainers, and staff. She added, “Additionally, we expect the People's Republic of China (PRC) to ensure the safety and wellbeing of our athletes.

(Image: Unsplash/AP)