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Russia hacked the Olympics and tried to pin it on North Korea
Now that the 2018 Winter Olympics are over, we're now learning who was responsible for hacking the games' systems... and the culprit won't surprise you at all. US intelligence officials speaking anonymously to the Washington Post claimed that spies at Russia's GRU agency had compromised up to 300 Olympics-related PCs as of early February, hacked South Korean routers in January and launched new malware on February 9th, the day the Olympics began. They even tried to make it look like North Korea was responsible by using North Korean internet addresses and "other tactics," according to the American sources.
If NBC can’t improve its VR Olympics coverage, it should just stop
If you're watching the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics on TV like a normal person, you may not realize there's another option. I viewed the opening ceremonies, skiing, curling, figure skating and other events in virtual reality on my Samsung Gear VR (2017) headset via NBC's app. I didn't expect the coverage to be as smooth as TV, but I thought it would be a cool way to watch the events as if I were a live spectator. Sadly, with one exception, the experience was spotty and disappointing.
Robots had their own skiing competition at the Winter Olympics
The Olympics aren't just an event for the most talented athletes to strut their stuff on the world's stage. No, The Games are where robots can find honest work and leisure, too. Some 85 robots (spread across 11 different models, humanoid and otherwise) have been serving drinks, cleaning floors, swimming around fish tanks, guiding lost visitors at the airport and even skiing according to regional publication Korea JoongAng Daily. "We applied three yardsticks in choosing the robots to use at The Games -- how stable, new and useful they are going to be," Park Hyun-Sub, of the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology said.
Olympics officials confirm cyberattack during opening ceremony
Officials saw suspicious activity on Olympics systems during the 2018 winter games' opening ceremony, and now it's confirmed: it was a cyberattack. PyeongChang organizers have revealed that someone compromised services (including internet and TV) while athletes were on parade. Everything had been "resolved and recovered" by the 9th, spokesman Sung Baik-you said. He added that they knew the cause of the attack, but were "not going to reveal the source" after talking to the International Olympics Committee.
Samsung releases the official 2018 Winter Olympics app
If you're an Olympics nerd, then take note: Samsung has released the official app of the PyeongChang 2018 games. It's ready for download now in the App Store and Google Play Store. The app is available in Korean, English, French, Japanese and Chinese (it's not clear whether this means Mandarin, Cantonese or both).
Samsung designed a 2018 Winter Olympics edition Galaxy Note 8
Samsung has unveiled a sweet-looking Galaxy Note 8 you might never get your hands on. The Korean conglomerate has designed a limited edition version of its extra large phone exclusively for 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics participants. It's fitted with a shiny white back glass to represent snow and wintertime, and it's adorned with a gold Olympics logo and similarly gold accents as inspired by the Olympics torch. Inside, it's still the same Galaxy Note 8 everyone else has, minus the pre-loaded PyeongChang 2018 themed wallpapers.
NBC brings two Winter Olympics preview shows to Netflix
You won't have to stay glued to NBC to watch all of its Winter Olympics coverage -- although it won't necessarily be the coverage you want. The network is offering a two-part PyeongChang preview series, Go For the Gold and Meet Team USA, that will be available on Netflix between January 15th and the end of the Olympics on February 25th. The episodes will explore the American team's athletes and their stories, including well-known competitors like Lindsey Vonn and Shaun White.
Visa swaps payment cards for NFC gloves at the Winter Olympics
Visa is very fond of showing off its tap-to-pay technology at the Olympics, and that's truer than ever with the 2018 Winter Olympics around the corner. The payment giant is selling a trio of NFC-equipped gadgets to help you shop at the PyeongChang games, most notably a set of winter gloves. Yes, you can pay for that souvenir without freezing your hands as you reach for a credit card or even your phone. You won't have to use them or the other devices at the games, but they'll come with prepaid values of between 30,000KRW to 50,000KRW ($27 to $45) to encourage shopping in South Korea. Visa hasn't offered pricing.
