russia’s hybrid attacks ahead of the Olympic Games in Italy
russia is intensifying hybrid attacks against Italy ahead of the Olympic Games.
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stated that a series of cyberattacks had targeted Italy’s diplomatic institutions as well as facilities related to the Winter Olympic Games. He noted that these actions were orchestrated by russia. According to Italian media reports, a pro-russian hacker group, NoName057(16), is believed to be involved.
At the same time, a campaign aimed at discrediting Ukrainians in the context of the Olympics is underway. In particular, russian resources have launched a number of new fakes:
▪️ “Ukrainian hackers are stealing from Europeans via fake websites offering hotel bookings in Italy” — a fabricated video allegedly produced on behalf of a well-known accommodation booking service.
▪️ “Ukrainian refugees in Italy are calling on food service workers to spit in Italians’ meals” — a fake video disguised as material from the Italian Ministry of Health.
▪️ “Mossad advises Israelis to conceal symbols because of Ukrainian neo-Nazi refugees” — another entirely fabricated story spread via russian Telegram channels.
As in previous campaigns, these fakes are disguised as reports by reputable media outlets or statements by official institutions. However, their origin can be traced to the russian Telegram segment, after which they are amplified through a network of propaganda resources.
The goal of this campaign is to destabilize the information environment ahead of the Olympic Games and to preemptively discredit potential protests against the participation of so-called “neutral” russian athletes.
