Russia is still out here Russia-ing, y'all. I have to admit: when they decide to do something, they go all the way in. Hacking, for example. They looooove that shit. So much, in fact, that they've allegedly done it again. On Wednesday, BuzzFeed reported that hackers associated with the Russian government released a number of emails stolen from the International Olympic Committee.
But why? First of all, it's Russia—they don't need a reason to hack some shit. Secondly, it has to do with a little something that happened back in December of last year. In an unprecedented move, the International Olympic Committee banned the entire country of Russia from participating in the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, set to take place in February. The decision came after the committee found evidence that the Russian government had implemented a wide-reaching, state-sponsored doping scheme.
According to BuzzFeed, the hackers—who refer to themselves as "Fancy Bears"—used the same website and format used to publish documents in 2016 that had been hacked from the World Anti-Doping Agency, which happened after the agency discovered hundreds of Russian athletes had taken banned substances.
The leaked emails, some of which are encrypted and unreadable, purportedly expose some kind of grand influence agenda among athletes. "These emails and documents point to the fact that the Europeans and the Anglo-Saxons are fighting for power and cash in the sports world," Fancy Bears said in its accompanying post.
The International Olympic Committee declined to acknowledge Fancy Bears or the emails: "We do not comment on leaked documents," the committee told BuzzFeed.
