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posted by janrinok on Thursday September 15 2016, @04:13AM   Printer-friendly
from the whodunit? dept.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has confirmed that its Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) database has been accessed by a "Russian cyber espionage group operator by the name of Tsar Team (APT28), also known as Fancy Bear."

The breach was made possible by spear phishing of an "International Olympic Committee (IOC)-created account for the Rio 2016 Games" that saw the account-holder's passwords obtained.

"The group accessed athlete data," WADA says, "including confidential medical data - such as Therapeutic Use Exemptions delivered by International Sports Federations (IFs) and National Anti-Doping Organizations (NADOs) - related to the Rio Games; and, subsequently released some of the data in the public domain, accompanied by the threat that they will release more."

Fancy Bear is thought to also go by the names APT 28 and Tsar Team. Whatever the group's name, the site [please think before visiting site run by hackers - Ed] on which it has posted a rationale for its attack claims no national affiliation. The Russian link comes from WADA director general Olivier Niggli, so says the agency "has been informed by law enforcement authorities that these attacks are originating out of Russia."

The Russian link matters because ahead of the Rio games the nation was the subject of accusations of systematic, government-sponsored doping. Some Russian athletes were even banned from competition. Others were roundly booed during the games.

[Continues...]

Meanwhile, Arthur also found this item from the BBC:

The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) has condemned Russian hackers for leaking confidential medical files of star US Olympic athletes.

Athletes affected include tennis players Venus and Serena Williams and teenage gymnast Simone Biles. After the leak, Ms Biles said she had long been taking medicine for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

The hacker group had accused her of taking an "illicit psycho-stimulant", but she said she had "always followed the rules". The Rio Olympics quadruple gold medallist had obtained the necessary permission to take prescription medicine on the Wada banned drugs list, USA Gymnastics said in a statement.

Wada said in a statement that the cyber attacks were an attempt to undermine the global anti-doping system.

Russian government spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was "out of the question" that the Kremlin or secret services were involved in the hacking, Russian news agencies reported.

The hackers accessed records detailing "Therapeutic Use Exemptions" (TUEs), which allow the use of banned substances due to athletes' verified medical needs. "By virtue of the TUE, Biles has not broken any drug-testing regulations, including at the Olympic Games in Rio," USA Gymnastics said. Fancy Bears said TUEs amount to "licences for doping".

The leaked documents allege that Serena Williams was granted permission to use drugs commonly used to treat muscle injuries, such as anti-inflammatories, while Biles is said to use Ritalin - a treatment for her ADHD.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15 2016, @05:21AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday September 15 2016, @05:21AM (#402142)

    He's a troll, except he actually gets things done.