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should athletes fear for their cybersecurity?

The next Olympic fortnight will begin in Beijing, China. But the cybersecurity of athletes is at the center of many questions.

While winter sports lovers are stamping their feet with impatience, athletes are beginning to reach the Olympic Village in Beijing for a fortnight of Olympic Games which promises to be very emotional. But while sports experts gather to savor the start of the competitions, other experts are much more worried about this edition of the Olympics.

If the question of the sporting level or the equipment is not at the heart of the fears, it is cybersecurity researchers who have expressed the greatest doubts for the moment. Indeed, the Chinese government obliges all people who go to China for the Olympics to download an application, designed to make their life easier. The latter must, on paper, monitor their state of health, an essential question in view of the pandemic, but also give them the results of the tests, or the road map to get to certain places.

An application finally quite common for events of this kind, and that journalists and athletes easily install on their phones. But now, the big problem is that this application would be, according to many cybersecurity researchers, a real gold mine of personal data and other private information. The system would even have several flaws easily exploitable by the first comer, such as the Chinese government, which has made mass surveillance a national sport in the country.

Some countries take steps

In addition to the potential risks associated with this application, the United States Paralympic Committee explains thatit should be assumed that every SMS, email, online visit and app access can be monitored.” A common practice in the country, which is not likely to end with the start of sports competitions.

And the United States are not the only ones to have fears as these Olympics approach. Indeed, the British Olympic Association said it had given athletes practical advice on bringing their personal devices to Beijing and would provide temporary devices to those who wanted them.

China no longer wants the USA to “parasitize” the Olympics

Other nations such as the Netherlands have also offered their athletes to provide them with telephones and computers especially for the duration of the competitions. Temporary products that will not be reused later until they have been thoroughly inspected.

As the Beijing Olympics begin in a few days, the Chinese government has just raised its voice in the face of such caution that the regime cannot explain. According to the power of the country, it would be the United States which would be at the origin of this problem which seeks to “parasitize” the competitions.

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