Russian agents deploy AI-produced Tom Cruise narrator to tar Summer Olympics

Members of the Microsoft Threat Analysis Center—a team that tracks hacking and influence campaigns of nation-state actors—have attributed most of the activity to two distinct groups tracked under the names Storm-1679 and Storm-1099. Both groups have spent years sowing Kremlin talking points in Western media.

“Starting in June 2023, prolific Russian influence actors—which Microsoft tracks as Storm-1679 and Storm-1099—pivoted their operations to take aim at the 2024 Olympic Games and French President Emmanuel Macron,” MTAC members wrote. “These ongoing Russian influence operations have two central objectives: to denigrate the reputation of the IOC on the world stage; and to create the expectation of violence breaking out in Paris during the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.”

The campaigns are only the latest attempt by the Russian government to discredit or hamper the mission of the IOC. Russian agents have also been behind a long line of campaigns targeting past Olympics, including:

• The 2016 hack of the World Anti-Doping Agency and the subsequent access and publishing of confidential medical data of gymnast Simone Biles and three other top US Olympians after Russian athletes were disqualified for taking performance-enhancing substances.
• “Significant cyberattacks” on 16 national and international sports and anti-doping organizations three years later.
• The unleashing of wiper malware that disrupted the opening of the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics; Russian hackers deliberately tried to make the attack appear to come from Chinese or North Korean threat groups.

Of the two Russian groups attempting to influence perceptions of the 2024 Olympics, Storm-1679 has been the most active, Microsoft said. Previously, the group primarily targeted the Ukrainian refugee community living in the US and Europe. The group’s principal tactic was the spoofing of short-form videos and other content—usually in English—that mimicked reputable media outlets. Since the pivot to France and the Olympics, the group has produced content in French, German, and other European languages.

Microsoft wrote:

Storm-1679’s Olympics-focused disinformation goes beyond defaming the IOC and seeks to foment public fear to deter spectators from attending the Games. Over the past year, Storm-1679 has consistently produced a collection of deceptive videos, suggesting that legitimate and trusted sources are conveying accurate information regarding expected violence during the Paris Games. In a short video, masquerading as a clip from Brussels-based media outlet Euro News, Storm-1679 falsely claimed that Parisians were buying property insurance in anticipation of terrorism surrounding the Games. In another spoofed news clip, this time impersonating French broadcaster France24, Storm-1679 falsely claimed that 24% of purchased tickets for Olympic events had been returned due to similar fears of terrorism. In a more explicit attempt to dissuade citizens from attending the Games, Storm-1679 produced fake video press releases posing as the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the French General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) warning potential attendees to stay away from the Paris 2024 Olympics due to the alleged risk of a terror attack.

The report continued: