The 2012 London Olympics are currently at the height of media attention around the world. This year, the Olympics have had a unique challenge not seen before in any other games. The ever-increasing use of social media outlets like Twitter has caused hiccups in the reporting and communications of some competitions.
Since the Beijing games in 2008, the use Twitter and other social networking sites is at an all-time high. When using GPS transmitters to communicate race results between athletes and reporters, Facebook updates and tweets have been overloading networks which has caused commentators to guess the result times in some cases.
Another security risk has become apparent from the many identity hackers invading unsecured wi-fi networks in hotels, restaurants, and public venues. Many who are betting on the outcome of the competitions are having their banking information stolen by these hackers.
With networks are being strained to their maximum thresholds and breaches of cyber security to citizens and visitors, the question arises, should London have been more prepared?
Are these cyber security concerns something that the London government should have prepared better for, or does this fall into the hands of the private institutions where users are accessing the internet from? These incidents pose a serious threat to London’s security and IT infrastructure, and their government has put so many resources into preparing the city for these games, was this the city’s responsibility?
These breaches of online security may also be costing the private industry countless amounts of money in repairing their networks and getting their users back online securely. Could they have been more prepared for the millions of tourists traveling to the city by taking preventative measures beforehand?
When it comes to the online security of a massive event like the Olympics, it’s hard to know where the responsibility lies. Whichever side you choose, it is apparent that both public and private industries are not keeping up with the advances of today’s cybercrimes, the need for cyber security is more prevalent than ever.
