The highly anticipated 2024 Summer Olympics will take place in Paris next month.
As the competitors prepare to compete for a highly sought-after medal this year, the people in charge of overseeing the event’s more than two-week duration continue to prepare to defend against cybersecurity threats.
Over the past decade, cyberattacks have become easier to launch as “bad actors” have turned to automation. The responsible use of Artificial Intelligence can counter some of these threats.
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The Olympic Rings are set up in Trocadero Plaza overlooking the Eiffel tower, a day following the official announcement of the 2024 Summer Olympic Games to be held in France’s capital.
Visual Edge IT, a leading AI-driven company that specializes in risk reduction, is a great choice for sports leagues and organizations. Visual Edge IT has worked for hundreds of clients in the U.S., Europe and beyond.
The security of an international event like the Olympics is a major concern.
Visual Edge IT is not directly involved with the Olympics. However, cybersecurity expert Peter Avery provided some insight into how Olympic organizers could maximize risk reduction. He also detailed what a plan should include in the event of an cyber event.
WHAT ARE ARTIFICIAL INTERVENTION (AI)?
Avery, vice-president of security and compliance for Visual Edge IT told Fox News Digital that he does his job by helping customers reduce the risk associated with their technical, administrative, and physical controls. “I love protecting organizations, and the Olympics are facing a huge challenge.
“Overall, we must keep in mind that we need to protect ourselves in our business and personal lives. It’s unfortunate to be in that part of the world, but they are attacking the elderly, the youth and businesses …. They are going after our livelihood, our survival. Then there’s our infrastructure, and the supply chain. We have to be concerned about our water supply and we have to be concerned about being able buy food, because all of those events can at any time be interrupted by the right cyber event.”
AI offers a chance to counter cybersecurity threats during the Paris Olympics.
AI has certainly created many advantages, but it also has some drawbacks.
“With the rise of AI (or machine-learning )… as a fact, as it is for increasing our productivity on the legitimate side of business… Cybercrime has (also) been able to accelerate their growth,” Avery continued. “Their ability automate and execute attacks through this automation in a manner that has never before been seen. Ten years ago, a sophisticated hacker was required to launch a cyberattack on a business. It’s almost like a franchise model now. They have welcome packets and they have training for new groups.”
Avery said that a robust cybersecurity incident response plan will be crucial for the Summer Olympics.
“The internet will be overtaxed in Paris because of the sheer number of people who access the internet there.” No. They must have robust systems and redundancy in everything they do. Avery said that they should think of security in space as defensive layers rather than defensive depth.
“When I talk to organizations about cybercrime it’s never if… it’s always when. What will we do if this happens? The first step is to have an incident response plan, and then do some table-top testing. The people who are organizing the Olympics must have people sit down at a table to say, “Okay, our main provider has just gone out of power.” What happens next… go?” And as they walk through that exercise, they’ll illuminate multiple other things which could happen and would impact other things.”
The south facade of the Palais Bourbon in Paris, June 4, 2024.
Some cyberattacks have been fueled by misinformation. Blackbird.AI has created a narrative intelligence platform based on AI called Constellation. The platform identifies narratives derived from disinformation.
The platform will then initiate a process where the technology analyzes and measures the narrative, adds context and measures the level risk. All of these steps aim to provide clarity. This allows organizations and anyone using the platform to make critical decisions with the best information available.
“We have Constellation, which is our intelligence platform. We can discover, analyse, investigate online conversations across any platform and [help] determine the risk they pose. Sarah Boutboul is an intelligence analyst with Blackbird.AI. She told Fox News Digital that they look at the visibility and the narrative.
International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach, President of the IOC, recently emphasized the need for sports to embrace AI responsibly. In April, IOC announced its AI plan. It included identifying talent, improving judging and personalizing training.
(Laurent Gillieron/Keystone, via AP)
“Today we take another step to ensure that the Olympic Games are unique and relevant. Bach stated that in order to achieve this, we must be leaders of change. He made the statement during a press conference at the former London Olympic Park. “We are determined in a responsible manner to exploit the vast AI potential.”
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The Summer Olympics begins on July 26 and ends on August 11.
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