Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the whole world watched as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) postponed the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Fast forward a year later and the change in sentiment — from excitement to weariness — is palpable in Japan and the rest of the globe. In fact, over 70 percent of the country wanted the IOC to cancel the games outright. And a resurgence of COVID cases throughout the country effectively cripples Japan’s ability to create revenue streams through international tourism and event attendance, resulting in an inevitable hit to its economy. But the IOC insists on pushing forward as the Olympic Games is a symbol of unity and resilience.
Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the whole world watched as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) postponed the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. Fast forward a year later and the change in sentiment — from excitement to weariness — is palpable in Japan and the rest of the globe. In fact, over 70 percent of the country wanted the IOC to cancel the games outright. And a resurgence of COVID cases throughout the country effectively cripples Japan’s ability to create revenue streams through international tourism and event attendance, resulting in an inevitable hit to its economy. But the IOC insists on pushing forward as the Olympic Games is a symbol of unity and resilience. Like the IOC, however, cybercriminals will charge ahead too in their own race to potentially disrupt the Olympic games. Ultimately, it isn’t a matter of «if» they’ll succeed in doing so, but «when» and how much damage will it cause. It takes a collective of lawmakers, government officials, security and IT teams assigned to maintaining the games’ online infrastructure to ensure that proper measures are in place to deter any cyber attacks and disruptions long enough for proceedings to cross the finish line. What sorts of threats does the Tokyo Olympics face; where will those threats stem from; and can previous history lessons effectively inform present day defense tactics? Tokyo Games in the Crosshairs? The Tokyo games are an attractive target for attacks from a number of sources from nation states to cyber criminal gangs.
