Japan’s chief government spokesman said on Tuesday that the country will implement countermeasures against cyberattacks to ensure that the Tokyo Olympics are a success.
Britain and the United States on Monday condemned what they said were a series of malicious cyber attacks orchestrated by Russian military intelligence, including attempts to disrupt the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics.
The Games were originally set for this year, but were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato also told a press conference that Japan was in close contact with the United States and the United Kingdom on the issue and was collecting and analyzing information, but did not elaborate.
British officials said hackers from the Russian military intelligence agency GRU had also carried out “cyber reconnaissance” operations against the organizers of the Tokyo Games.
They declined to give specific details about the latest attacks or say whether they were successful, but said they had targeted the Games organizers, logistics providers and sponsors.
The 2020 organizing committee said in a statement that “no significant impact was observed” from potential cyberattacks on its operations. The attacks on the 2020 Games are the latest in a series of hacking attempts against international sports organizations that, according to Western officials and cybersecurity experts, have been orchestrated by Russia since its doping scandal broke five years ago. Moscow has repeatedly denied the allegations.
Russia was barred from the world’s major sporting events for four years in December for widespread doping offenses, including the Tokyo Games.
A spokesperson for the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said they emphasized cybersecurity.
