Anticipated Cyber Threats During the 2024 Olympics & How to Proactively Secure Your Business

As Paris gears up for the 2024 Summer Olympics—an event synonymous with global unity and strength—the city’s businesses, especially those in the travel, hospitality, ticketing, and retail industries, face the dual challenge of leveraging this unique opportunity while navigating the heightened threat of cyberattacks.

With 4 billion cyberattacks expected during the Olympics, cybersecurity professionals need to be proactive in securing their organization, anticipating spikes in traffic and attacks rather than simply reacting once an attack has started. The spectrum of cyber threats anticipated during the Olympics varies, but here are the ones that should remain top of mind for businesses.

Top Cyber Threats During the 2024 Olympics

The Olympics attract not only global audiences but sophisticated threat actors who aim to exploit the surge in digital activity. From sophisticated bot attacks that disrupt services and steal data, to account takeover (ATO) and credential stuffing that compromise user accounts, the range of threats is diverse. Additionally, the digital advertising boost expected during the Olympics heightens the risk of ad fraud, while the increase in online transactions could lead to more carding activities, impacting financial stability and customer trust.

Sophisticated Bot Attacks

As businesses ramp up their online presence to capitalize on the Olympic audience, they become prime targets for bot-driven attacks. These bots can perform a variety of malicious activities, including website scraping for data theft, launching distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks to disrupt businesses, and executing ticket scalping operations to inflate prices and monopolize ticket sales.

Account Takeover (ATO) & Credential Stuffing

The spike in user registrations and online transactions makes digital platforms ripe for ATO attacks, where cybercriminals use stolen credentials to gain unauthorized access to user accounts. This can lead to identity theft, financial fraud, and significant brand damage.

Fake Account Creation

Attackers may create fake accounts en masse to exploit promotional offers, engage in phishing scams, spam legitimate users, or skew platform analytics. These fake accounts can significantly undermine user trust and platform integrity.

Ad Fraud

The surge in digital advertising to leverage the Olympic audience creates an opportunity for ad fraud. Cybercriminals may deploy bots that mimic human behavior by clicking on ads without any intention of making a purchase, thus draining advertising budgets and skewing campaign data.

Carding or Card Fraud

With an expected increase in online transactions, there’s a heightened risk of carding, where stolen credit card information is used for unauthorized purchases. This not only results in direct financial losses but also affects customer trust and can increase the chargeback rates for businesses.

Ransomware & Malware Attacks

The high profile of the Olympics makes it a lucrative target for ransomware and malware campaigns, aiming to compromise systems for financial gain or disrupt services during critical moments of the event.

Social Engineering Scams

Leveraging the excitement around the Olympics, cybercriminals might engage in social engineering scams, deceiving individuals into making donations to fake charities, purchasing non-existent merchandise, or investing in fraudulent schemes.

Industries Under Threat During the 2024 Olympics

With the Olympic spotlight, industries such as travel, hospitality, ticketing, and retail are particularly vulnerable, experiencing not only a spike in traffic and transactions but also an increase in cyber threats. Data from past global events underscores the urgency for these sectors to fortify their digital defenses against ticket scalping, social engineering, and bot-driven fraud.

During the Olympic Games, certain industries are particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks due to their increased visibility and the surge in customer engagement. The top industries likely to be targeted during the 2024 Paris Olympics include:

Travel & Hospitality

With a significant influx of tourists for the Olympics, airlines, hotels, and travel booking platforms will see a surge in online bookings. This makes them prime targets for DDoS attacks, payment fraud, and ATO aimed at stealing personal and payment information.

E-Commerce & Retail

The Olympic Games often inspire themed merchandise, limited edition products, and special promotions. E-commerce platforms and retail businesses could face sophisticated bot attacks performing inventory hoarding (scalping), credential stuffing, and payment fraud.

Media & Broadcasting

As official broadcasters and media outlets stream live events and provide round-the-clock coverage, they become attractive targets for cyberattacks seeking to disrupt services, spread malware via malicious ads, or execute credential stuffing attacks to gain unauthorized access to premium content.

Sports Betting & Gambling

The heightened interest in Olympic outcomes can lead to increased activity on betting and gambling sites, making them susceptible to DDoS attacks, account takeover attempts, and payment fraud.

Financial Services

Banks and payment processors will handle high volumes of transactions related to Olympic ticket sales, merchandise purchases, and travel bookings. This could attract attackers looking to intercept financial transactions, steal credentials, or perpetrate credit card fraud.

Ticketing Platforms

These platforms are at risk of bot-driven ticket scalping, where bots buy up tickets en masse to resell them at inflated prices, as well as payment fraud and phishing attacks targeting eager Olympic spectators.

Social Networks & Forums

Platforms hosting Olympic fan discussions and social interactions may face influence fraud, including increased spam, misinformation campaigns, and phishing attempts designed to exploit fans’ enthusiasm.

Public Sector & Government

Government websites and digital infrastructure related to the Olympics (for ticket sales, tourist information, etc.) might be targeted by cyberattacks aiming at disrupting public services or spreading propaganda.

Strategies for Mitigation

Advanced Bot Detection & Mitigation

Emphasizing the importance of advanced bot detection, DataDome offers comprehensive bot management solutions that effectively distinguish between legitimate users and malicious bots, employing machine learning algorithms to ensure seamless security. DataDome protects against the majority of the top threats businesses will face during the 2024 Olympics: ATO, scraping, scalping, DDoS, card cracking, credential stuffing, vulnerability scanning, and more.

Enhancing Account Security

To combat account takeovers and credential stuffing, enhancing account security is paramount. Implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) and monitoring login attempts can significantly deter unauthorized access, safeguarding user data. DataDome Account Protect monitors user-centric and business data signals to stop ATO and fake account creation before they happen, from the very first attempt.

Ad Fraud Protection

With increased advertising during the Olympics, businesses must protect their investments from ad fraud. DataDome Ad Protect ensures that digital marketing resources are efficiently utilized, alerting you to fraudulent activity on your digital ad campaigns.

DataDome is Here to Lend a Hand

Recognizing the unique challenges posed by the Paris 2024 Olympics, DataDome’s new Premium SOC offering for French companies exemplifies the firm’s commitment to safeguarding businesses from sophisticated cyber threats. This proactive initiative underscores DataDome’s role as a cybersecurity stalwart, offering solutions designed to protect businesses during the Olympics and beyond.

Prepare Now With a Proactive Cybersecurity Posture

The 2024 Paris Olympics presents a golden opportunity for businesses to showcase their resilience and innovation by adopting a comprehensive, proactive cybersecurity posture. By understanding the threat landscape, embracing industry-specific security measures, and leveraging solutions such as those offered by DataDome, businesses can ensure a secure digital environment for their customers.

Learn more about how DataDome can secure your business ahead of the 2024 Olympics by requesting a free trial.