The 2024 Summer Olympics Games Overview

Event Details and Venues

The 2024 Summer Olympics Games will take place from July 26 to August 11, with the Paralympic Games following shortly after.

The Olympic Games will primarily take place in Paris and its environs, with other French towns hosting handball in Lille, football and sailing in Marseille, and surfing in the French Polynesia overseas territory.

Preparations and Infrastructure

Airports have begun preparations to welcome Olympic traffic, with baggage handling systems at Paris Charles De Gaulle improving. RATP is ready to open the extension of Line 14 to Paris Orly Airport, which will make public transport more accessible to the city.

The Olympics’ opening ceremony will take place on July 26, and a no-fly zone will be established. Affecting flights to, from, and over the Paris Charles de Gaulle, Orly, and Beauvais airports.

Airline Adjustments

As air travel demand increases during the busy summer months, airlines have adjusted schedules following newly imposed regulations related to noise and safety concerns in France. Airlines have been preparing for the Paris Olympics by increasing the size of their planes or the frequency of flights to and from France.

• Air France plans to offer 9% more capacity on long-haul services this summer, including service resumption, new services operating thrice weekly with a Boeing 787-9, and additional frequencies on key African and Indian Ocean routes.
• Qantas will launch a new service from Perth starting on July 12, operated by a Boeing 787, taking nearly 17 hours to complete. Qantas will also operate four times a week during the summer season.
• Delta will operate daily flights from Cincinnati to Paris, with an Airbus A330-302 aircraft painted with an Olympics-themed livery.
• Iberia will introduce an Airbus A330-200 on its route connecting Madrid and Paris Orly on July 25 and 27.
• As of July 3, Avianca will resume operating flights from Bogotá to Paris.

Potential Disruptions and Security Concerns

Increased demand is one of the two main risks associated with travelling during the busy summer months and the Paris Olympics. It could result in strikes, traffic jams, and delays. Groupe ADP President Augustin de Romanet warns that arriving at airports earlier than usual will be necessary to avoid missing flights.

Due to insufficient staffing and unfavourable working conditions, air traffic controllers forced airline operators to cancel approximately 70% of flights to and from Paris Orly on May 25, causing severe disruptions to air travel.

The third largest union, the Usac-CGT, announced a new strike notice affecting flights within France and possibly overflights. If a revised agreement with the DGCA fails, travel to the Paris Olympics could face heavy disruption, with the legacy of the Olympics being one of air transport delays, cancellations, and uncertainty.

Cybersecurity Threats

Financially Motivated Threat Actors

With thousands of athletes and spectators expected in the city, the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are predicted to be a potential goldmine for financially motivated threat actors.

The biggest victims would likely be those trying to buy online merchandise and tickets, as they could be defrauded or scammed into buying fake tickets. Athletes may also be the target of threat actors who try to obtain their personal data.

Ransomware Attacks

Direct ransomware attacks against the key infrastructure and businesses in Paris, or against the infrastructure supporting the games, might be highly profitable if the victims choose to pay the required ransom.

Nation State Actors and Hacktivists

Hacktivists and nation state actors may be keeping an eye on the event and trying to figure out how to utilise it as a platform to spread their message. In 2024, the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Palestine conflicts will unfold on the world stage, and cybersecurity incidents could manifest themselves in the Olympic Games.

Hacktivists or nation-state actors might try to take over Olympic related websites in order to put messages promoting their cause.

In order to further a cause, actors may choose to cause disruption; for example, they may launch a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack to bring down WiFi during the Olympics.

Widespread disruption caused by a cyberattack might have serious repercussions, including interference with everyday activities and Olympic-related events. Read more about related to sports.

IT and OT Systems

The operation of the Olympics depends on IT and OT, and there are numerous potential security holes in the vast, interconnected networks that enable this event.

IoT devices are one such point of vulnerability, and encouraging third parties to have a high level of cybersecurity is important because there’s a lot of trusted linkages between all these companies.

AI and Deepfake Threats

Another element that can make it simpler for threat actors to carry out convincing phishing attacks in 2024 is the widespread usage of AI.

Deepfakes now make it increasingly harder to tell the difference between fraud and validity while interacting with somebody on the phone or even just viewing them on a screen.

Cybersecurity Measures and Education

The Olympics are facing a tidal wave of cyber threats, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), host city of Paris, vendors, and individual athletes and attendees all playing a role in recognizing and combating these threats.

Cybersecurity efforts for the upcoming Olympics involve Cisco, Eviden, and the French Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI). To ensure the seamless operation of the games, procedures such as penetration testing, managed detection and response, system patching, data backups, and disaster recovery plans will be implemented.

Educating Athletes and Visitors

Educating athletes and visitors about the dangers of phishing, smishing, and malicious activity on their devices is one of the best preventative actions.

Individuals attending the event must be cognizant of how they are interacting with technology at the Olympics events, such as using public Wi-Fi.

Additional Information

The Olympics provide special challenges and are a remarkable display of athleticism and international collaboration such as having to traverse the world while being alert and continuously on the move.

Azerbaijani boxer Alfonso Dominguez has won a license for the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games. Dominguez, Azerbaijan’s world champion in the 92 kg category, qualified for the Olympics after defeating Elkin Adilbek Uulu in the finals.

The 2024 Summer Olympics will feature various sports, including breakdancing as an Olympic event. The event will mark the second time Paris has hosted the Olympics.

Conclusion

The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris promise to be an exciting and significant event, drawing global attention and participation. However, the event also brings challenges in terms of logistics, travel disruptions, and cybersecurity threats. With thorough preparation and vigilance, these challenges can be managed to ensure a successful and memorable Olympic Games.