Hackers Going for Gold at Winter Olympics: Report

The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will be a magnet for all types of online threat actors, from nation-state spooks to petty scam artists, according to a report released Monday by Palo Alto Networks.

Attackers will include ransomware gangs, predicted the report by Palo Alto’s Unit 42, its threat intelligence and incident response group.

“Ransomware is just one type of financial crime that will likely be conducted during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games,” the researchers at Unit 42 reported. “Scams and phishing campaigns against attendees will be common, using fake websites, bogus QR codes, fraudulent apps, and other tools to scam victims out of their cash.”

Events like the Winter Games create ideal conditions for disruption because even a minor outage can cause broadcast interruptions, entry delays at venues, and transportation chaos, commented Mike Carr, a field CTO at Xona, a provider of secure remote access for critical infrastructure in Hanover, Md. “Attackers know defenders have low tolerance for downtime, making extortion more effective,” he told TechNewsWorld.

Nation-state actors will also be getting in on the action, as well as hacktivists.

“Celebrities, politicians, and business leaders will likely be in attendance,” the report explained. “Well-resourced nation-state actors may take advantage of this rare opportunity for close access and mount sophisticated attacks to compromise and surveil these VIPs and/or their staff. The stakes are high, in terms of strategic intelligence and impact.”

“The global geopolitical scene is rife with conflict,” the report added. “The Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games draw billions of eyes. For hacktivist groups, perhaps no occasion offers as much exposure and publicity for their ideology.”

Target-Rich Environment

The report pointed out that the sheer volume of people, systems, money, and data surrounding the 2026 Winter Games creates a target-rich environment for attackers. “Cybercriminals may cast a wide net with their scams and phishing campaigns,” it noted. “Like a futbol striker, making one out of a thousand attempts can make the difference.”

“The large number of athletes and fans, the computer and security systems involved, their related data, and the large amount of money spent on such an event make it a popular target,” added Chris Hauk, consumer privacy champion at Pixel Privacy, a publisher of online consumer security and privacy guides.

In addition to scams, he identified other tools that threat actors might deploy at the Games. “Deepfakes and other types of misinformation could be used to discredit Olympic officials and executives, athletes, and other high-profile attendees at the events,” he told TechNewsWorld.

Global events like the Winter Olympics create the perfect cover for cybercriminals, added Diana Rothfuss, global solutions strategy director for risk, fraud, and compliance at SAS, an analytics and artificial intelligence software company in Cary, N.C.

“The volume of digital activity around such events skyrockets with ticketing, travel, streaming, and payments,” she told TechNewsWorld. “That noise makes it much easier for scammers to exploit overburdened systems and distracted consumers. Criminals can blend their illicit activities into high traffic volumes and social buzz, which makes detection more challenging.”

“AI only continues to raise the stakes,” she added. “Europol warns that AI-driven cybercrime is evolving into a digital arms race, where attackers can scale and automate scams faster than ever.”

Full Spectrum of Scams

Rothfuss expects to see a full spectrum of scams at the Winter Games, from fake ticket sites to bogus streaming links to impersonation scams. “With the advance of generative AI, fraudsters can now spin up convincing fake apps, websites, donation pages, and athlete ‘fundraisers’ in minutes,” she said.

Phishing attempts will increase, she predicted, with scammers sending emails pretending to be from official Olympic organizations, airlines, or hotels, asking for personal information or payment details.

Impersonation scams involving athletes, staff, and even vendors will also surge as criminals mimic Olympic officials, national teams, or sponsors to solicit fees or sensitive information that can be exploited to commit other crimes, she continued.