(Newswire.net — September 14, 2016) — The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed Tuesday that the organization was attacked by Russian hackers.
The organization said Tuesday that the authorities are investigating a breach by Russian spy group who said they have proof that WADA “turned blind eye” on doping results for several top US athletes, while suspending entire teams of Russian athletes because some members tested positive for illegal substances.
The group called Tsar Team, also known as Fancy Bear “illegally gained access to WADA’s Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) database via an International Olympic Committee (IOC)-created account for the Rio 2016 Games,” WADA stated.
While US mainstream media keeps quiet about it, some EU News agencies reported the claims by Fancy Bear that sisters Serena and Venus Williams, as well as teenage gymnast Simone Biles who won four gold medals in Rio, tested “positive” on doping tests.
In a statement published on the WADA web page, the World Anti-doping Agency claims they were informed by law enforcements that the group called Fancy Bear was responsible for the breach. The statement doesn’t say which law enforcement authorities provided the information.
“WADA has been informed by law enforcement authorities that these attacks are originating out of Russia,” said Olivier Niggli, Director General of WADA.
“WADA deeply regrets this situation and is very conscious of the threat that it represents to athletes whose confidential information has been divulged through this criminal act,” said Director General Niggli.
“We are reaching out to stakeholders, such as the IOC, IFs and NADOs, regarding the specific athletes impacted,” he continued.
While WADA focuses on the security breach and crimes against this organization, the US athletes deny the use of forbidden medication. The Kremlin also denies any involvement in the WADA attacks.
“It can be stated with all certainty that there is no involvement of the official Moscow, [Russian] government or special services in such actions. This is completely ruled out,” Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Tuesday.
“These unfounded allegations … do not honor any organization, if they are not backed by something substantial,” Peskov said, adding that he does not know if the hacker organization provided any documents to back its statement.
“I do not know whether those who came out with such statements possess any substantial arguments,” Peskov told journalists.
This attack comes after the early August incident; whereby, Yuliya Stepanova’s password for ADAMS was illegally obtained, which allowed the perpetrator to access her account on ADAMS.
Ms. Stepanova was the key whistleblower for WADA’s Independent Pound Commission that exposed widespread doping in Russian athletics, which led to suspension of entire teams of Russian Olympic athletes, which included the entire Russian Federation Paralympic team.