User:Adigahackers

The Anonymous Kavkaz group (a.k.a. Adiga Hackers)--based in the country's North Caucasus region--have launched "Operation Blackhole" to target the Winter Olympics website as well as the website of Russian mobile phone operator and Olympics sponsor MegaFon.

According to the DHS advisory, Anonymous Kavkaz believes that "the Olympic complex is being built upon mass graves from the Circassian genocide," which occurred in the 19th century. The group has already claimed to have taken down the public websites of Russian president Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin. "This is the first time Russia has hosted the Olympics (the 1980 Olympic Games were held in the USSR) and officials are actively monitoring the region for any indication of unrest," according to DHS. "Russia has recently deployed military forces to the North Caucasus as part of a broader effort to stabilize the region in the lead-up to the 2014 Olympics." Interestingly, these aren't the first online attacks related to the 2014 Winter Olympics. In late 2010, the websites of multiple news outlets in Sochi were targeted by online attackers in retaliation for their criticism of proposed Olympics construction being situated near UNESCO-protected sites. According to the DHS advisory, "it is unknown who perpetrated this series of attacks, but their choice of targets indicates the attacker was possibly attempting to subdue opposition." In other words, the Russian government, or people working with the government, appear to have launched the attacks.