Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told reporters in Washington that national security agencies had “foiled a series of cyberattacks” of “Russian origin.” He said the attempted intrusions targeted multiple Foreign Ministry offices, beginning with Washington, and also hit some Winter Olympics sites, including hotels in Cortina.
Previous Olympic-related cyberattacks occurred in Paris in 2024 and Pyeongchang in 2018, and are widely attributed to Russian actors. Analysts point to Russia’s bans from the Games—over doping violations and its war in Ukraine—as possible motives. British intelligence has previously warned that Russian hackers had considered strikes on Tokyo in 2021.
Russia has been excluded from this year’s Winter Olympics over the invasion of Ukraine, though 13 Russian and seven Belarusian athletes are permitted to compete as neutrals among about 3,500 athletes from around the world.
Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo are hosting the Winter Olympics from February 6 to 22. Authorities expect some two million visitors, including about 60,000 at the opening ceremony at San Siro Stadium in Milan, which will be attended by US Vice President JD Vance. Numerous protests are planned during the Games, addressing issues from environmental damage linked to the Olympic model to opposition over Israel’s inclusion given the situation in Gaza.
For the opening period, Milan’s city center will be designated a “red zone,” closed to pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Security measures have been stepped up at border crossings and rail stations; K-9 teams and bomb squads are conducting regular sweeps at venues, and snipers have been deployed across the tightly controlled red-zone network.
A contingent of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents has been sent to the event, a move that has drawn criticism from Italian citizens and politicians who object to a US domestic agency operating on Italian streets, especially given recent controversies involving ICE. Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi said ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) personnel will serve only in an advisory role. “ICE does not and will never be able to carry out operational police activities on our national territory,” he said, noting that Italy had accepted similar support in Paris in 2024 and calling local anger “completely unfounded.”
Beyond cyber defenses, roughly 6,000 police and 2,000 military personnel have been deployed across the region from Milan to the Dolomites. Italy’s Defense Ministry is supplying trucks, aircraft, drones and radar to help secure the event. Specialists including bomb experts, anti-terror units, snipers and police on skis will all be on site.
Overall security will be coordinated remotely from the Rome-based International Olympic Operations Room (SOIO), running 24 hours a day for the duration of the Games. SOIO will liaise with police forces in northern cities including Bolzano, Milan, Sondrio, Trento, Venice and Verona. Officers from foreign police forces, plus Interpol and Europol personnel, will be present to facilitate information-sharing and manage any critical issues requiring international cooperation.
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez