Ahead of the Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italian authorities announced that they had prevented a series of cyber attacks, which they believe originated in Russia.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told reporters in Washington that Italian intelligence services had managed to thwart several hacking attempts. The attacks targeted the websites of the Italian Foreign Ministry, including the embassy in Washington, as well as resources related to the 2026 Winter Games, in particular the websites and systems of hotels in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
‘We have prevented a series of cyber-attacks on Foreign Ministry institutions, starting with Washington, as well as on some Winter Olympics websites, including hotels in Cortina. These are actions of Russian origin,’ Tajani said.
According to the minister, the attacks did not have serious consequences — all attempts were successfully neutralised. Detailed technical characteristics of the attacks and evidence of Russian involvement were not disclosed publicly.
The statement was made two days before the opening ceremony of the Games, which will take place on 6 February at the San Siro Stadium in Milan, and on the day of the first curling competition in Cortina d’Ampezzo.
To enhance cybersecurity and overall security for the 2026 Olympics, Italy has deployed approximately 6,000 police officers, 2,000 military personnel, as well as drone systems, robots, and a specialised cyber command centre of the National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN).
Some reports note that the pro-Russian hacker group NoName057(16) claimed responsibility for one of the attacks, motivating its actions by Italy’s support for Ukraine.
So far, neither the Russian side nor international sports organisations, including the IOC, have made any official comments on these allegations.