How does cyber security affect the Beijing Winter Olympics?

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Company (NTT) helped the International Olympic Committee escape, and fortunately avoided the "problem" of cyber security for the Tokyo Olympics. The Beijing Winter Olympics is coming soon, and the world is waiting to see if Beijing can deliver satisfactory cybersecurity answers. Although financially unsuccessful (some estimates cost 30 billion U.S. dollars), the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics performed well in a segment: cyber security. How well do the cyber security results of the Tokyo Summer Olympics match the previous threat predictions? What does this situation mean for the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022?

The cyber security situation of the Tokyo Olympics NTT Communications provides telecommunications services and network security for the Tokyo Summer Olympics, and manages approximately 11,000 Wi-Fi access points. Before the opening of the Olympics, the company expects cybercriminals may use distributed denial of service (DDoS), ransomware or other direct attacks on critical infrastructure. In a post-Olympic press release in October 2021, NTT pointed out that despite the increase in hacking activities, due to the implementation of cyber security measures, no cyber incidents ultimately affected the Olympics or Paralympics. None at all! The results speak for themselves. The total number of blocked security incidents (including unauthorized communications on Olympic websites) is 450 million-a huge number that is unimaginable. Frankly speaking, this is an incredible achievement in itself, not to mention the increased demand for live streaming caused by the delay of matches caused by the new crown pneumonia epidemic and the ban on live watching. These 450 million attacks are also 2.5 times more than the total number of incidents experienced in the 2012 London Summer Olympics. NTT attributed its network security victory to its "overall view of network security strategy." NTT said the method includes continuous threat intelligence monitoring and analysis, security operations center (SOC) services, a complete security solution package, and a team of more than 200 cyber security experts.

Outlook for the Beijing Winter Olympics Similar to the Tokyo Summer Olympics, neither the Beijing Winter Olympics in February nor the Beijing Winter Paralympics in March will allow foreigners to enter the games. Therefore, the demand for live events in other parts of the world has once again been highlighted. Therefore, we have reason to predict that at least 500 million cyber attacks will hit the Beijing Winter Olympics by then. We can also learn from NTT’s report: From 2020 to 2021, the threat landscape including malicious hackers and their tactics, techniques and procedures (TTP) has undergone major changes, bringing new challenges, and this This trend will continue into the 2022 Winter Olympics. NTT will once again provide security for the Winter Olympics, but the company will have to reallocate resources and rebuild part of the security infrastructure in order to adapt to changes in the threat situation and ensure that it can provide the same level of network stability as the Tokyo Olympics. In addition to the threat of large-scale DDoS attacks, NTT must also pay special attention to the dangers of small-scale DDoS attacks. If there are too many small attacks, they can also interrupt live broadcasts or services related to the success of the digital Olympics. The digital Olympics will continue Although many people want to participate in the Tokyo Summer Olympics and Beijing Winter Olympics in person, the new crown pneumonia epidemic has forced many of us, whether sports fans or information security professionals, to realize that digital transformation means that we will not be able to do as often as we used to. Go to the Olympic Games or the safety conference. On the contrary, we will rely more on remote and streaming services to watch, communicate and interact. Therefore, companies need to set up a complete network security strategy, because we cannot afford the consequences of the interruption.