Cyberattack Caused Olympic Opening Ceremony Disruption

A cyberattack caused the internet disruptions during the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony on Feb 9, Olympic officials and security experts said.  Jihye Lee, a spokesman for the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee, confirmed Sunday that “the technology issues experienced Friday night were caused by a cyberattack.” Lee did not elaborate on the cause but said that the attack had been quickly addressed and that systems had been stabilized by Feb 11. The cyberattack took out internet access and telecasts, grounded broadcasters’ drones, shut down the Pyeongchang 2018 website, and prevented spectators from printing out reservations and attending the ceremony, which resulted in an unusually high number of empty seats.