World Cup 2014 Security: Brazil Prepares for Attacks From Hacker Group ‘Anonymous’

Brazilian hackers from the international hacking group Anonymous are threatening aggressive action during the World Cup, adding cyber attacks to the games already marred by protest, delays and excessive costs. Brazil is a country already wracked by cyber attacks. Authorities are rushing to protect government websites and the FIFA website from online attacks. The threats have come following growing anger from Brazilians at the enormous cost of the World Cup.

Anonymous spoke with Reuters, discussing their plans but not revealing their identities. "We are making plans already," said one hacker using the name Eduarda Dioratto. "I don't think there's much they can do to stop us." They see the World Cup as an opportunity to denounce Brazilian corruption to the entire world. "The attacks will be directed towards officials and companies that promote the World Cup," said another hacker, alias Che Commodore via Skype.

Brazil has one of the most sophisticated communities of cybe criminals in the which has already managed to con fans into buying fake tickets to the games. "It's not a question of whether or not the Cup will be the target of attacks, it's a question of when," says William Beer, a cyber security expert from the consulting group Alvarez and Marsal. "In the meantime, resilience and response become extremely important." FIFA has not commented on the cyber security of the games.

"It would be foolish for a country to say that it was 100 percent ready for any threat," said General Jose Carlos dos Santos, chief of cybernetic securities for the Brazilian Army. "But Brazil is preparing to respond to the most likely cybernetic threats." However, hackers have suggested otherwise. "It's not out of this world," said an activist calling himself Bile Day. "Security is still really low." In fact security experts believe that Brazil could be surprised by new threats to its security, with the cyber attacks being just one of a multitude of possible dangers.