winterolympics2018
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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.
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.
Recommended Reading: The excess of the Olympics
How the Olympics got Disneyfied Michael Weinreb, The Atlantic No matter which country hosts the Olympics, the Opening Ceremony is always jam-packed with over-the-top futuristic visuals and tons of culture. It's a display "financial and cultural excess," as The Atlantic's Michael Weinreb describes it, and it all got started in the US during the 1960 Winter Games in Squaw Valley.
How to watch the 2018 Winter Olympics
With the opening ceremonies completed and the torch lit, the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea are officially underway and will run through February 25th. Viewers have plenty of options to stream events this time around -- and while you can watch almost everything on NBC with your cable subscription, there are several internet TV providers that include some or all of the network's coverage through their own service subscriptions.
Intel put on an Olympic light show with 1,218 drones
The Winter Olympics' opening ceremony took place today in Pyeongchang and it featured a light show from a record-breaking 1,218 drones, Wired reports. The display was created with Intel's Shooting Star drones, the same ones used in Lady Gaga's Super Bowl halftime show last year and Intel's CES keynote in January, and featured drone murmurations that depicted images like a snowboarder and the interlocking Olympic rings.
DJI will create no-fly zones around Olympic venues in South Korea
Days ago, South Korean authorities announced that they'd capture any drone that got too close to Olympics event facilities. If you have a DJI-made craft, you won't even be able to get close. The UAV maker is releasing a software patch that creates a no-fly zone around Olympic areas.
DirecTV offers 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos for Winter Olympics replays
Comcast and Hulu may have already revealed plans for Winter Olympics coverage, but today, DirecTV is letting us in on what it has in store for the next several days. In addition to the regular prime time coverage anyone with access to NBC's family of networks is privy to, the AT&T-owned company has a few other things up its sleeve to enhance your viewing experience. We're talking 4K HDR and Dolby Atmos, for starters, when the festivities kick off this Thursday.
Snapchat and NBC are going all-in on the Winter Olympics
Snapchat is teaming up with NBC to put the 2018 Winter Olympics in your pocket. Starting February 10th you'll be able to watch the Games live in the Discover tab. More than that, it sounds like there will be daily highlights as well. "Snapchatters can expect one pivotal moment from NBC's primetime broadcast to be live in Snapchat each day, and can sign up for notifications" in the app, the company says.
A US Paralympian designed Team USA's snowboard prosthetics
Mike Schultz was a professional snowmobile racer, and a damn good one at that. But in 2008, his life's course took a turn after a competition accident shattered his left knee and left him clinging to life. When his injuries began causing his kidneys to shut down, doctors decided to amputate the leg just above the knee.
VR helps US Olympic ski and snowboard teams prep for South Korea
When skiers and snowboarders prepare for a competition, they often have incredibly limited access to their race routes ahead of time. But the US ski and snowboard team is doing things a little differently than it has in the past, using VR to review routes multiple times before competing. It's working with a company called STRIVR, which has developed VR training programs for professional sports teams, college sports teams and even companies like Walmart, Visa and Lowe's. Now, STRIVR is helping US Ski & Snowboard prepare for competitions like the World Cup and the upcoming Olympic Games by letting the team relive particular routes in VR.
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.
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.
Samsung's former Chairman pardoned, again
You know what's awesome about being the head of a South Korean chaebol? You're untouchable. After being convicted of tax evasion netting a $110 million fine and a deferred 3-year prison sentence, Lee Kun-hee, the former chairman of Samsung Group, has been pardoned by the South Korean government -- his second presidential pardon after first being convicted in 1996 of bribing former South Korean president Roh Tae-woo. Why the reprieve? Easy, so the 67 year old can help the country pursue a bid for the 2018 Winter Olympics. A Korean activist group responded to the move saying, "Granting a chaebol chairman a pardon just to host an Olympics will make South Korea a laughingstock in the international community." How true.
