British Olympic Association to organize technology security conference

After hackers broke into two computer systems, the British Olympic Association decided to hold a technology security conference for national sports bodies.

Photo: British Olympic Association to organize technology security conference

Computers belonging to GB Canoeing and the Amateur Boxing Association of England were breached by hackers in October, although it was unclear how much information they accessed. GB Canoeing said it did not believe any data had been downloaded.

Miriam Wilkens, the head of media for the BOA, said Friday the conference will be held next year to teach the bodies how to safeguard against future threats.

"We will continue to monitor the situation and encourage the bodies to take appropriate measures to protect their systems," Wilkens said.

The BOA said it had informed the International Olympic Committee of the breaches.

"I thought we had a responsibility to share it with the Olympic family," BOA chief executive Simon Clegg said. "It is a real danger when you consider how much information is held electronically. I simply don't know who is behind this, but I am concerned about the amount of information we hold in this way."

The canoeing body's system was the first to be targeted, and the ABAE's database was then attacked eight times in a three-week period.

"We have all our individual assessments for all our boxers - their strengths, their weaknesses - stored on our system," ABAE chief executive Paul King said. "We also hold information on the international competition."

Investigations have traced the attacks back to Internet protocol addresses in China. However, the hackers could easily be based in other countries working from Chinese addresses.

"We naturally think it might be someone trying to get into our Olympic intelligence, though we have no evidence," GB Canoeing chief executive Paul Owen said.