WADA confirmed on Tuesday that the group had been able to access athlete data, including confidential medical reports, related to the Rio Olympics and subsequently released it into the public domain.
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“WADA condemns these ongoing cyber-attacks that are being carried out in an attempt to undermine WADA and the global anti-doping system”, Olivier Niggli, Director General, WADA, said in the statement.
Last month, hackers obtained a database password for Russian runner Yuliya Stepanova, a whistleblower and key witness for the WADA investigations.
The hackers accessed records detailing “Therapeutic Use Exemptions” (TUEs), which allow the use of banned substances due to athletes’ verified medical needs.
WADA said it believed the hackers gained access to its anti-doping administration and management system (ADAMS) via an IOC-created account for the Rio Games.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has strongly denied any possible Russian involvement in the hacking attack on WADA.
The medical files, allegedly from the World Anti-Doping Agency, were posted Tuesday on a site bearing the name of the hacking group Fancy Bears.
“In each of the situations, the athlete has done everything right in adhering to the global rules for obtaining permission to use a needed medication”, Travis Tygart, chief executive of USADA, said in a statement.
The International Olympic Committee didn’t issue a blanket ban on Russian athletes in Rio, leaving the decision on competitors’ eligibility up to their respective sporting federations.
The World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed it had been hacked and blamed Fancy Bears, a Russian state-sponsored cyber espionage team that is also known as APT 28 – the very same group that may have recently breached the Democratic National Committee.
Venus Williams was allowed to take prednisone, prednisolone and triamcinolone among others in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. The documents appear to show drugs that the athletes had received approval to use. The authorization was given by Dr. Stuart Miller from the International Tennis Federation (ITF).
“I’d like to thank the hackers for making the world aware that I legally take a prescription for a condition that I’ve been diagnosed with, which Wada granted me an exemption for”.
The hackers penetrated the WADA’s athlete database and publicly revealed private medical information about three of the United States’ most famous athletes: Serena Williams, Venus Williams and Simone Biles. “I have followed the rules established under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program in applying for, and being granted, ‘therapeutic use exemption'”.
Reacting to the leak, Simone Biles issued a statement on Twitter, saying that she has nothing to be ashamed of, since she suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Reacting to the leak, Simone Biles issued a statement on Twitter, saying that she has nothing to be ashamed of, since she suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
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The drug testing results for star basketball player Elena Delle Donne were also revealed in the hack.
