As the Paris Olympic Games approach and against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the level of cyberthreat continues to rise.
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Cybercriminals linked to Russia pose one of the biggest threats to France. This is the observation made by the National Information Systems Security Agency (Anssi). It thus appears that pro-Russian hacker groups are hiding behind numerous destabilization operations. Sometimes, they even clearly claim their cyberattack because of the support that France provides to Ukraine.
Last spring, for example, a group linked to Russia took down the websites of the National Assembly and the Senate for several hours to denounce France’s military aid to Ukraine. These hackers also exploit our security vulnerabilities to carry out strategic espionage and companies specializing in the defense field are particularly targeted.
Anssi’s fear is acts of computer sabotage. “That is, the attempt to take control of critical infrastructure necessary for our daily lives and potentially shut them down.” explains Vincent Strubel, director of the IT security agency, on franceinfo.
He confirms that these acts “which Ukraine, unfortunately, has experienced more since 2014 than since 2022 and which we see in less virulent forms in Western Europe” East “still very marked and very driven by actors affiliated with Russia.”
Spying on business phones
Another phenomenon is gaining momentum, that of “cell phone compromise” to use Anssi’s terms, thanks to very sophisticated spyware that can provide remote access to the microphone, the camera and all the data on the phone that has been hacked. At this stage, it is mainly the executives of strategic companies who are targeted. Anssi recommends having a professional telephone and a personal telephone for professions exposed to the risk of espionage.
The Olympic Games are the current concern for Anssi because it will be necessary to protect the computer systems of the 350 entities linked to the competition, 80 of which are considered critical. In the meantime, Anssi is preparing for all scenarios.
A risk multiplied tenfold during the Olympics
“For us, [les JO vont être] a target for all types of attacks, warns Vincent Strubel. Destabilizing attacks, the activist who wants to pass messages, very targeted attacks, for example against the opening ceremony to damage the image of France, or attacks not targeted at all as we see in the organized crime to make money. So we’re preparing for that.”
“We worked specifically with all the stakeholders specific to the Olympic Games such as sports federations and competition venues. We audited them and supported them to give them a plan to improve their security,” adds the director of Anssi. Experts estimate that the level of cyber threat will increase tenfold during the Olympics.