Russia Hacked Olympic Drug Database

A Russian government hacking group infiltrated the World Doping Agency’s drug-testing database, accessing drug test results and confidential medical data for Olympic athletes. The hackers used spear-phishing, which infects computers once a user opens an infected email. The group has already released information about famous U.S. athletes, and has promised more leaks to come. “The latest incident appears to be part of a larger campaign of strategic releases of hacked material by the Russian government to embarrass victims or raise doubts about their integrity,” the Washington Post quotes analysts as saying. The hack follows a ban on nearly all of Russia’s track and field team from this summer’s Rio Olympics, after investigations uncovered a widespread, government-run doping scheme. “It’s just ultimately sour grapes,” said Rich Barger, chief information officer at cybersecurity company ThreatConnect. “What we’re seeing here is a digital temper tantrum.”