Drama ahead of the Winter Olympics: Major attack thwarted; Moscow faces accusations

The attacks targeted facilities of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including the embassy in Washington, as well as websites linked to the Winter Olympic Games and hotels in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Tuesday.

“These are actions of Russian origin,” a ministry spokesperson confirmed.

The Winter Olympic Games are set to begin later this week, with the opening ceremony scheduled for Friday.

The incident comes just four months after Russian hackers stole hundreds of sensitive military documents from Italy’s Ministry of Defense, including details about eight Royal Navy and RAF bases, as well as the names and email addresses of employees, which were later published on the “dark web.”

In what was described as a “catastrophic” security breach, cybercriminals gained access to the file database by hacking a maintenance and construction contractor used by the Ministry of Defense.