Naomi Osaka Just Shutdown Russian State Attacks on Athletes

All over the news is the story of Naomi Osaka defending her mental health against attackers:

‘This Will 100% Save Somebody’s Life.’ Athletes See a Turning Point for Mental Health After Naomi Osaka Takes a Stand at the French Open

However, NOT all over the news is the context of these terrible attacks and how they have been linked to Russian state methods to unfairly compete (as well as influence outcomes for gambling).

Take this 2016 story, for example:

The four athletes said their use of approved medications was already widely reported or they welcomed the openness resulting from an alleged Russian-led cyberattack that WADA believes is revenge for investigations into a state-backed doping program in Russia.

“To say that Petra Kvitova suffers from asthma and uses medication for treatment is the same revelation as saying she’s won Wimbledon,” a spokesman for the Czech tennis player, Karel Tejkal, said.

The next two years these Russian attacks on athletes health records (e.g. to manipulate their mental health) intensified such that by 2018 coordinated anti-crime actions were announced.

Microsoft Corp. says a Russia-linked cyberhacking group has made “significant” attacks on at least 16 sports and anti-doping organizations across three continents since September.

And then two years after that in 2020 Russian Intelligence Officers were indicted for targeting healthcare records around the world in a campaign to attack athletes:

A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh has indicted six Russian computer hackers for their involvement in a worldwide deployment of malware and other computer hacking efforts that targeted the Heritage Valley Health System… also was an attempted cyber-attack on the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics where Russian athletes were banned from participating under the country’s flag due to a government-sponsored doping scandal.

The problem is much, much larger than just these six military intelligence officers in Russia. And Naomi Osaka is a true leader, an inspiration to athletes around the world, to demand adequate competitor safety be provided from these state-run attacks.

In related news, ransomware attacks now will be classified with similar priority to an act of terrorism.

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