Sweden: Russia carried out cyber attacks against elite athletes

The alleged violations took place between December 2017 and May 2018, say the Swedish authorities. The Winter Games in South Korea took place in February 2018.

Russian hackers are suspected of having obtained personal data from Swedish athletes, including their medical records. According to the Swedish National Security and Intelligence Service Säpo, which suspects the hackers were connected to the 85th center of the Russian military intelligence service GRU, also known as APT28 or Fancy Bear.

‘Discredit countries’

“Data hacking is an example of using sport to improve the image of one’s own country and discredit other countries,” said Daniel Stenling, head of counterintelligence at Säpo. Legal obstacles prevent the Swedish prosecution service from prosecuting. The investigation of Russian hackers has since been halted.

Anti-doping organizations

According to prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist, the attack on Swedish data was part of a Russian campaign against national and international anti-doping organizations. The FIFA football association was also the target of Russian hackers.

United States accused Russian hackers have also reported cyber attacks against top athletes and sports organizations. This happened in the run-up to the World Cup in Russia in 2018.