Following a breach, user IDs and passwords for the Tokyo Olympic ticket gateway were released on a leak website, a government official told Kyodo News on Wednesday. The leak was "not huge," according to the source, but the IDs and passwords might provide someone access to a person's name, address, bank account information, and other personal information.
The government source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the organizing body for the Games has initiated an investigation. The hack reportedly includes the names, addresses, and bank account information of individuals who purchased Paralympic tickets, as well as a volunteer portal. They did not specify how many accounts were compromised. The leak was revealed as Japanese musician Keigo Oyamada resigned this week from the team producing Friday's Olympic opening ceremony after admitting to previously bullying and abusing children with disabilities, and as organizers struggle to turn public opinion in their favor in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Some people on the internet denied the accusations of a breach. "There are no postings on any of the forums demonstrating direct information leaks," Twitter user pancak3 said after finding accounts for those registration sites on Dark Web markets. He went on to say that the data was not stolen as a consequence of a breach, but rather as a result of attacks using the RedLine virus and other data thieves.
The announcement came just one day after the FBI issued a private industry alert warning organizations working with the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics to prepare for a wave of "DDoS attacks, ransomware, social engineering, phishing campaigns, or insider threats to block or disrupt live broadcasts of the event, steal and possibly hack and leak or hold hostage sensitive data, or impact public or private digital infrastructure supporting the Olympics."
"Malicious activity could disrupt multiple functions, including media broadcasting environments, hospitality, transit, ticketing, or security," the FBI notice said on Tuesday. "The FBI to date is not aware of any specific cyber threat against these Olympics, but encourages partners to remain vigilant and maintain best practices in their network and digital environments."
The notice goes on to mention the Pyeongchang cyberattack, which occurred during the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, during which Russian hackers used the OlympicDestroyer malware to disrupt web servers during the opening ceremony. According to the notice, the hackers "obfuscated the true source of the malware by emulating code used by a North Korean group, creating the potential for misattribution." Six Russian intelligence operatives were indicted by the Justice Department in October for the attack on the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
