A former FBI Special Agent has warned it is “almost guaranteed” that Vladimir Putin’s Russia will attempt to disrupt this year’s Paris Olympics.
Defence expert and Chief Information Security Officer at Arctic Wolf Adam Marrè told Express.co.uk that Moscow has already started attempting to influence opinions of the Olympic Games before they begin through influence campaigns and AI documentaries.
Furthermore, if Russia decides to launch an attack on Paris during the Olympics, it could target the city’s famous Metro system or ride-hailing services, causing disruption on the streets of Paris.
Russia’s antagonism towards the West comes as France’s President Emmanuel Macron emphasised his country’s support for Ukraine on the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Mr Marrè told Express.co.uk: “I think the likelihood of Russian interference in the Olympics is almost guaranteed. They’ve done something for every Olympics since 2016 when they were banned from competing under their flag. What that could look like is many things and I think that’s a little bit harder to guess.
“It should be noted that for this particular Olympics, there is more than just Russian athletes not being able to compete under their flag, there is also the issue of the war in Ukraine and France’s outspoken support of Ukraine against the Russian invasion there.”
On what Russia has done so far, Mr Marrè continued: “What we’ve seen already is some influence campaign. For example, there was this AI-produced film called ‘Olympics Has Fallen’ which was a fake documentary that had a voiceover by a voice sounding like Tom Cruise talking about the Olympics and problems with it.
“There have been some other campaigns on social media about how there’s going to be violence surrounding the event including talking about the Israel-Hamas conflict.”
Despite the potential for massive provocations as a result of an attack, Mr Marrè believes Russia’s goal is not to trigger World War 3 but to “embarrass” the likes of the International Olympic Committee and France during a time when all eyes are on France’s capital.
When it comes to the most vulnerable targets, Mr Marrè said it was most likely to be companies and services that helped feed fans or get them to the Games. He explained: “What I think are maybe more vulnerable are all the things that support the Olympics, all the different companies and organisations involved in getting people to the venues and helping serve them food.
“You could definitely have a targeting of the Metro system or other transportation means, it could be ride hailing services or anything like that. That is definitely going to disrupt people.
“If you could have a disruption on a transportation network that would be a real win for them because it would disrupt the games in a very noticeable way.”
Mr Marrè’s comments come as France’s President Emmanuel Macron emphasised support during commemorations marking the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy.
Speaking at the event, President Macron said: “Thank you to the Ukrainian people for their bravery. We are here and we will not weaken.
“Faced with the return of war on our continent … faced with those who purport to change borders by force to rewrite history, let us be worthy of those who landed here.”
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