Brazil 2014: "hacktivists" threaten to launch cyber-attacks during the 2014 World Cup

A group of "hacktivists" (contraction of hacker and activist), claiming to be from the group Anonymous, have threatened to disrupt the 2014 World Cup in Brazil (12/06 to 13/07/2014) by launching cyber attacks against official websites of FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), the Brazilian government and the sponsors of the competition.

Cyber pirates would try to make it impossible to access the websites, steal data and spread viruses by email to supporters who believe they have won tickets to the competition. They denounced the 33b reais (about €10.3b) spent by the Brazilian government in preparation for the 2014 World Cup, and support the social protest movements taking place in the country.

"It would be very unwise for a country to say it is 100% prepared to deal with a threat, but Brazil is ready to respond to possible cyber attacks," said General Jose Carlos dos Santos, head of cyber defense forces for the Brazilian Army, to Reuters on 26/02/2014.

• The "hacktivists" want to take advantage of the weakness of the communication infrastructure of Brazil, of the…