2018 Russia World Cup : Russian cyber spy may invade travellers’ mobile devices

According to securityaffairs reports, William Evanina, director of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center, recently issued a warning that Russian intelligence agencies may attack the mobile devices and computers of Russian fans participating in the World Cup. According to the U.S. senior intelligence official, for security reasons, Russian authorities will conduct large-scale surveillance during the World Cup.

Evanina said in a statement:

“Anyone traveling to Russia to attend the World Cup should be clear-eyed about the cyber risks involved. If you’re planning on taking a mobile phone, laptop, PDA, or other electronic device with you — make no mistake — any data on those devices (especially your personally identifiable information) may be accessed by the Russian government or cyber criminals.”

In a statement, Evanina stated that every traveller or fan who goes to Russia to participate in the World Cup might become the target of Russian intelligence agencies, with any data on their mobile phones, laptops, PDAs or other electronic devices (especially Personally the Russian government or cybercriminals may access identifiable information. In particular, some companies and government officials may face the highest risk value. Therefore, they should always be highly vigilant.

To prevent hacking, it is recommended to remove the battery when the device is not in use.

Source: SecurityAffairs