Corona, human rights, espionage
Olympic fear games threaten in Beijing
01/28/2022, 12:15 p.m
The corona pandemic, the human rights situation in China, the fear of restrictions on freedom of expression. There are countless reasons for athletes not to travel to Beijing for the Winter Olympics with unbridled anticipation. And then there is the fear of espionage.
The Athletes Germany initiative has reiterated acute warnings of security gaps in the IT sector and espionage at the Olympic Winter Games in Beijing. With all the anticipation of the competitions starting on February 4th, “a shadow is also hanging over the games for us and for many if you look at the human rights situation, if you look at the corona pandemic, the fear of restrictions on freedom of expression and possibly also the danger of spying and espionage,” said Maximilian Klein, Commissioner for International Sports Policy, in the ZDF morning show.
Klein again called for great vigilance. “We shouldn’t be naive and believe that nothing can happen. The risk of manipulation should be taken seriously,” said the athletes’ spokesman. “According to everything we’ve heard, the Chinese regime can be trusted to do a lot! If we look at IT security now, when it comes to the danger of espionage. There are blatant security gaps in the My2022 app.”
There is also a risk of manipulation. “Back then in Sochi, no one believed that when it came to the Russian doping scandal. And you have to be just as vigilant now with regard to the games in China,” demanded the spokesman for Athletes Germany. For fear of espionage, some countries, including Germany, provide their athletes with mobile phones free of sensitive data, on which “My2022” can be installed. There are also warnings that Chinese intelligence services could read data not only from cell phones, but also from tablets and laptops.
As the “Spiegel” reports in its current issue, security experts also advise against taking more than just the most necessary documents with you, and hotel safes are not secure either. The Olympic participants should also be skeptical about friend requests in social networks. Fake profiles from Chinese news services could be behind this. The fact that many German athletes are employed by the Bundeswehr, customs or the federal police is particularly problematic.