Over 1 billion people worldwide will follow the London Olympic Games on PCs and mobile devices – including smartphones and tablets. Learn what threats to look out for.
With the rise in smartphones and technology there will be heightened risk for those using mobile devices, tablets and third-party applications to view content relating to the London Games. Malware can penetrate these devices just as easily as PCs.
Beware of cyber security threats
Mobile and Tablet Risk – Those who are watching the games via their smartphones or tablets should be aware of third-party applications that are not authorised by the Olympics. Your devices can be attacked when malicious applications are downloaded.
Drive-by-Downloads – Malicious software can automatically begin downloading to one of your devices during a visit to an infected website, email or pop-up ad. Cybercriminals can easily link this software to seemingly authentic Olympic websites.
Information Phishing – Disguised links from Facebook and Twitter are abundant, leading you to malware infected sites. Twitter links, for instance, are always shortened (e.g. bit.ly/…) and users cannot tell where these links will lead – unless clicked upon, which in turn could instantly infect users’ devices.
Search Engine Poisoning – When conducting online searches for information or images about the games, cybercriminals can redirect you to malicious websites. Rather than seeing an image of your favorite Olympian, the photo can actually infect your device if the page containing the image is laced with malware.
Ticketing Scams – You should be wary when researching game tickets, and of emails offering ticket deals from third-party sources. These can lead to fraudulent transactions and stolen credit card information.
Andreas Baumhof, chief technology officer of ThreatMetrix said;“With such a large audience seeking information on the Olympic Games, cybercriminals will seize this opportunity to attack PCs, mobile devices and even tablets,”
“Cybercrime today is so advanced that in many cases users are completely unaware they are being attacked. The Olympic audience needs to be vigilant when browsing the Internet and researching the games. Whether you are searching for Michael Phelps or real-time medal count updates, make sure you are using sites that can be trusted – mainstream news sites, or better yet the official Olympics website.”
Read more about the press release on ThreatMetrix’s website.
Please note: Action Fraud is not responsible for the content on external websites.
To report a fraud, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use our online fraud reporting tool.
Related Links
What is malware?
The Devil's In Your Details
Beware of fake Facebook Tag notifications
