Australian athletes and Olympic contestants from other countries were encouraged to leave their private devices at home in advance of the 2022 Olympic Games.
According to Axios, there were concerns that the Chinese Communist Party would attempt to hack or access the devices during the games or attempt to manipulate or limit online content. Concerns about cybersecurity and privacy have been a growing concern in recent years.
The Australian Olympic Committee was working with athletes on ways to minimise their cybersecurity risk during the games, and they will also be bringing their own WiFi networks for athletes to use in certain areas during the event. Other countries provided burner devices and encouraged athletes to leave their own devices in their home country.
For all corporate or individual devices, particularly those working in sensitive or intelligence industries, this highlights the need to secure these devices and implement tools that protect critical data.
