PARIS, July 20 (Reuters) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Saturday that a recent global tech outage, which disrupted many services including parts of the Paris Olympics preparations, served as a valuable test for the upcoming Games.
A software update from CrowdStrike, a major global cybersecurity firm, caused widespread problems. The outage affected flights, shut down TV broadcasts, and disrupted services like healthcare and banking. It also impacted some of the operations for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
IOC spokesperson Mark Adams acknowledged that while the outage caused significant issues, it was a useful rehearsal for managing potential problems during the Games. “Yes, there were some significant problems in the morning, but we handled them quite well. It was a good test for us,” Adams said.
The Paris Olympics are set to begin on July 26. This isn’t the first time the Olympics have faced tech issues; the Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics also experienced cyberattacks.
Adams emphasized that cyberattacks are a common concern in today’s world, and the Olympic Games are a prime target for such threats. “We have a lot of security measures in place. I can’t go into specifics, but we are very well prepared,” he explained. He mentioned that, despite the close call in Pyeongchang, the IOC is confident in its ability to manage any future issues.
Adams also touched on France’s bid for the 2030 Winter Olympics, which will be voted on by the IOC next week. The bid from France, which was recommended by the IOC executive board in June, still needs to fulfill two key requirements, including a public partnership contribution from two French regions: Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur.
“France 2030 is a great proposal, and it will be on the agenda for the vote on Wednesday,” Adams said. He noted that recent political instability in France has made the situation a bit more challenging, but he urged everyone to be patient as the final details are worked out.
In addition to discussing the 2030 bid, the IOC is focused on ensuring that the Paris Games are well-prepared. Adams reassured that despite the tech outage, the preparations for the Olympics are on track and they are ready for any challenges that may come.
