Daily Times

LONDON: National Olympic Committees in some Western countries are advising their athletes to leave personal devices at home or use temporary phones due to cybersecurity concerns at next month’s Winter Games in Beijing. Many NOCs said they will provide their athletes and staff with temporary devices to avert security risks and combat any surveillance during the Games taking place from Feb. 4-20 in China. “It should be assumed that every text, email, online visit, and application access can be monitored or compromised,” the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee said in an advisory. It suggested using rental or disposable laptops and phones while in Beijing or wiping all data from personal devices before and after travelling there. It also recommended that members install virtual private networks (VPNs) on devices before leaving the States. Despite safeguards in place to protect their systems and data, there should be “no expectation of data security or privacy while operating in China,” the USOPC added. Beijing Olympic officials could not immediately be reached for comment. The IOC said “it’s not for us to comment on the advice that an NOC may be providing to its delegation members”. The Canadian Olympic Committee said it has advised members to consider leaving personal devices at home and be extra diligent since the Games presented “a unique opportunity for cybercrime”. The Swiss and Swedish committees will also provide new devices to their delegations and have briefed them on measures they can take against cybersecurity.