I'm still a proud watcher of the Olympics... 2 years later.
The 2014 Winter Olympics officially began last Friday, but there are bigger concerns than who takes home the gold in this year’s games. Recent reports from homeland security and intelligence specialists speculate that this year’s icy events may come with terrorist threats. Let the games begin.
The winter Olympic games happen once every four years and bring together the top athletes in winter sports from across the globe to compete for the title of best in the world. This year’s games, hosted in Sochi, Russia, began on February 7 and will run through the 23rd, but fans and Olympians may have to watch their back regarding recent threats, the U.S. House of Representatives personnel warn.
Members of the House’s panel on Homeland Security and Intelligence recently announced that Islamist groups have threatened to commit an act of terror during this year’s games in Sochi. Experts say they believe the actual stadium will be safe, but are confident that an explosion will take place somewhere in Sochi during the games. Some 37,000 U.S. and Russian security personnel are guarding the security of the “ steel ring” surrounding the venues and intend to deter all potential threats, but further threats exist outside of the steel walls.
Another threat comes from the realm of cyberspace, says NBC News’ Richard Engel. For the record, his phone and computer were hacked within minutes of arriving at the Olympic park. Engle stated anyone traveling to Sochi should expect to have their privacy breached if they go online. While his claims have flared controversy from others who say the internet knows no location and hackers exist in every corner of the world, Engel stands by his statement and asks that travelers mind their personal information.
Some intelligence experts speculate that the security threats in Russia during the 2014 Winter Olympics have less to do with terrorizing the world’s best athletes are more to do with internationally embarrassing Russian President Vladimir Putin, but no one knows for sure. U.S. and Russian collaboration on security and intelligence definitely leaves room for improvement, but the U.S. is taking responsibility within the nation to temporarily ban all potentially suspicious substances on all flights between the U.S. and Russia until the games come to an end.
Hopefully this year’s winter games will only be known for which countries took home the gold.
C
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