Inside Olympic cybersecurity: Lessons from Paris 2024 to Milan Cortina 2026

The Olympics are a global spectacle, uniting nations through the thrill of competition and the celebration of human achievement. During this year’s Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games we watched Alysa Liu reclaim figure skating, a sport she once left behind, landing in first place. The US women’s and men’s ice hockey teams took gold, ending a 46-year Olympic drought for the latter. Lucas Pinheiro Braathen won gold in the men’s giant slalom, bringing home the first Winter Olympics medal for Brazil. And on the seventh day of the Paralympic Winter Games, host country Italy surpassed its previous high score of 13 medals, bumping their tally up to 14.

But behind the scenes, there was a lesser-known battle being fought — a battle against cyber threats that could disrupt the Games and tarnish their reputation. Franz Regul, former CISO for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, knows this fight all too well. In this Heard it From a CISO interview, he shares the challenges, strategies, and lessons learned from protecting one of the world’s most high-profile events, and what was likely top priority for defenders during the 2026 Games.

Cybersecurity at the Olympics is no small feat. With thousands of athletes, even more spectators, 10,000 workstations, and countless interconnected systems, the stakes are incredibly high. Regul explained how his team worked tirelessly to prepare for Paris’s global event and ensure the Games ran smoothly, from safeguarding critical IT infrastructure to protecting the physical safety of spectators and athletes. The opening ceremony, often dubbed “Ground Zero” for cyber threats, was a particular focus, as bad actors see it as a prime opportunity to disrupt the most-watched event in the world.

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