After all, Russia has previous in this area. As the New York Times has documented, its rationale in such cases is always to create a façade of plausible deniability. American intelligence sources have suggested that a series of cyber-attacks on Estonia in 2007 followed precisely the same pattern, where espionage was simply delegated to third parties. Nato described the then unprecedented scale of cyber-warfare as a “very serious disturbance”.
By that measure, the latest scurrilous Russian-led infiltration of medical documents should also be regarded as a matter of the utmost gravity. It has been confirmed that one piece of material the hackers laid their hands on included the whereabouts of Yuliya Stepanova, the whistleblower who blew the lid off Russia’s doping plot and who has since feared for her life.
There is no telling what dire ends this information could be put to if it winds up in the wrong hands. The same is true of other athletes who have had their files prised open, considering they are obliged to let anti-doping authorities know where they are at all times. Those details, too, could find their way into the possession of some genuine undesirables.
In 2007, Russia went after Estonia through cyberspace after the Bronze Soldier, a significant Soviet war memorial, was removed without its consent from the central square in Tallinn. Nine years on, smarting from the sense that it has been traduced by the West over doping, it appears to be going after America. Historically, this is a dynamic that seldom ends well. Sport needs to wake up to the grim reality that this week’s cyber-raids signal nothing less than the beginning of a second Cold War.
Bach has many questions to answer
Thomas Bach has passed off his conspicuous absence from these Rio Paralympics by claiming he needed to attend the funeral of Walter Scheel, former leader of Germany’s Free Democratic Party, instead. That might be his prerogative, but it is a little odd.
For he still cleared time in his travel schedule that week for a visit to Croatia – not exactly a great look for the first International Olympic Committee president since 1984 not to attend the opening ceremony of the Paralympics. Plus, there is the vexed matter of whether Bach had other reasons for swerving Brazil.
Is it purely coincidence that police here in Rio have said that they want to speak to him about email exchanges that he had with Ireland’s Pat Hickey, one of 10 people facing charges, all vigorously denied, of ticket scalping, conspiracy and ambush marketing? At a time when the IOC have pledged full co-operation with the Brazilian authorities, this is a question that Bach must answer, and fast.
We still need to address attitudes towards the disabled
At times, Paralympians must feel overwhelmed by the praise for their performances. It would just be refreshing to think that they could benefit from the same attention over the four years between Games.
Sadly, the legacy is often paper-thin. A Telegraph investigation highlights how disabled access at Premier League grounds remains, despite the enthusiasm for the London Paralympics, lamentable. When clubs have money pouring out of their pockets from the latest TV rights deal, most cannot be bothered to make changes that would cost less than Sky pay to screen a single top-flight match.
Spare me, then, any platitudes about how the Games bring about a quantum shift in attitudes to the disabled. We have further to travel than we would care to admit.