Cyber Incident Victim: Confederação Brasileira de Handebol
Date:
Aug 2016
Location:
Brazil
Summary
Anonymous Brazil conducted cyber attacks targeting Brazilian government and sports organization websites during the Rio Olympics, including a DDoS campaign that disrupted multiple sites during the opening ceremony. The group subsequently leaked personal, financial, and login credentials—including hashed passwords—from several sports confederations such as the Brazilian Handball Confederation, along with claims of exposing data belonging to high-profile officials involved in the Games. The attacks were framed as a protest against perceived corruption and misuse of public resources, with Anonymous encouraging further disruption through Tor-based DDoS actions. Affected websites were restored following the incident.
| CIA Posture | Motives | Tactics, Techniques & Procedures |
|---|---|---|
| Available to members | 2 motives | 3 techniques |
| Threat Actor | Type | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 1 actor | Available to members | Available to members |
Description
On August 5, 2016, coinciding with the opening ceremony of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, the hacktivist group Anonymous Brazil launched coordinated cyber attacks against Brazilian government and sports organizations in protest of the Games. The initial phase involved distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks that overwhelmed critical websites, forcing multiple high-profile targets offline. These included the federal government's Olympics portal (brasil2016.gov.br), the Rio de Janeiro State Government portal (rj.gov.br), the Ministry of Sports (esporte.gov.br), the Brazilian Olympic Committee (cob.org.br), and the official Rio 2016 Olympics website (rio2016.com). The attacks disrupted public access to these digital services during a period of heightened global attention on Brazil. Anonymous Brazil publicly claimed responsibility, framing the operation as a protest against perceived government corruption and misuse of public funds related to the Olympics.
The second phase involved data breaches against multiple sports federations, including the Brazilian Handball Confederation (brasilhandebol.com.br). Attackers exfiltrated and leaked sensitive information from these organizations' systems, publishing CSV files containing personal details, financial information, and login credentials of registered users, including hashed passwords. Parallel breaches affected the Brazilian Confederation of Modern Pentathlon, Boxing Confederation, and Triathlon Confederation. Anonymous also claimed to have leaked personal information of high-profile individuals including Rio's Mayor, the State Governor, the Sports Minister, and Olympic Committee officials. While most targeted websites were restored within 24 hours, the compromised personal data remained exposed. The group continued to advocate for further attacks through Tor network tools, maintaining their opposition to Brazil's hosting of international sporting events following similar protests during the 2014 FIFA World Cup.