Potential for Malicious Cyber Activities to Disrupt the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics

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SUMMARY

The FBI is warning entities associated with the February 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and March 2022 Paralympics that cyber actors could use a broad range of cyber activities to disrupt these events. These activities include distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, ransomware, malware, social engineering, data theft or leaks, phishing campaigns, disinformation campaigns, or insider threats, and when successful, can block or disrupt the live broadcast of the event, steal or leak sensitive data, or impact public or private digital infrastructure supporting the Olympics. Additionally, the FBI warns Olympic participants and travelers of potential threats associated with mobile applications developed by untrusted vendors. The download and use of applications, including those required to participate or stay in country, could increase the opportunity for cyber actors to steal personal information or install tracking tools, malicious code, or malware¹. The FBI urges all athletes to keep their personal cell phones at home and use a temporary phone while at the Games. The National Olympic Committees in some Western countries are also advising their athletes to leave personal devices at home or use temporary

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¹ For more information on the malware risk associated with government-mandated software, please see FBI FLASH AC-000129-TT, disseminated on 23 July 2020, titled “Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures Associated with Malware within Chinese Government-Mandated Tax Software.”

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