Israel athletes hacked at Paris Olympics over conspiracy theory

Personal information of Israeli athletes has been leaked online with a wild Paris Olympics conspiracy theory behind it all.

PARIS, FRANCE - JULY 24: Fans holding Israel flags react in the stands during the Men's group D match between Mali and Israel during the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Parc des Princes on July 24, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

Israeli athletes had their personal information leaked by “Iranian hackers” just a day before the Olympic Games officially commence.

Pictures, home addresses and even data on those who served in the Israeli army were made public amid the rising terror threats in France, The Sun reports.

The Olympic host country has splashed a whopping $A688 million on their tight-knit security operations ahead of the tournament.

But that did not stop hackers from reportedly leaking photos of IDs, plane tickets, documents, and personal information on Israeli athletes’ service in the IDF.

Stolen data also included military ID numbers, usernames and passwords to online accounts as well as home addresses.

The “anti-Israel” hackers claimed that those who had served in the IDF prior to the Olympics were sent to Paris as “undercover representatives”, The Times of Israel reports.

The group, named Zeus, reportedly posted on Telegram alongside the hacked material: “The Israeli military sent representatives to the Olympic Games.

“We are revealing what the Israeli soldiers are doing at the Olympics.”

Israeli athletes were hacked in Paris. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Israeli outlet YNet claims the hack could have been carried out by an Iranian group to be used for propaganda and intimidation.

Israel’s cyber directory said it was monitoring the incident.

The 88 Israeli Olympians are said to have non-stop protection from French security services, as well as Israel’s Shin Bet officials amid a spate of threats to the delegation.

On Thursday, Israeli foreign minister Israel Katz warned his French counterpart, Stéphane Séjourné, of an Iranian-backed conspiracy to harm Israeli tourists and sportsmen at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“There are those who seek to undermine the celebratory nature of this joyous event,” he wrote.

“We currently have assessments regarding the potential threat posed by Iranian terrorist proxies and other terrorist organisations.

“We are determined to see our athletes proudly represent the State of Israel and believe we can count on France to ensure their security.”

Israeli tourists were urged to take extra caution. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)

Israel had previously urged those attending the Paris Olympics to exercise extra caution amid terror threats, The Times of Israel reports.

The country’s National Security Council (NSC) believes that global jihadist and Iran-backed terror organisations “are seeking to carry out attacks on Israeli/Jewish targets around the Olympics.”

“International events such as this represent a preferred target for threats and attacks from various terror groups, because of the potential for the wide media impact,” the NSC told Israelis.

On Wednesday, Israeli fans were attacked on a chaotic Olympics opening night during their football match against Mali.

Pro-Palestine protests were held as the Paris games’ major security operation at Israel’s first appearance went mostly untested.

Palestine flags fly during Israel’s match against Mali. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

Fans clash in the stands during Israel’s first match. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

Booing echoed across the Parc des Princes during the Israeli national anthem and security guards were seen breaking up small groups of demonstrators and Israelis.

The French capital’s Olympic Games is set to become the most guarded Games ever with over 75,000 cops and soldiers, drones, helicopters and a huge increase in AI surveillance all deployed after months of growing safety concerns.

Over 43 countries are involved in ensuring the Olympics are kept secure with French officials claiming the “unprecedented” operations are at least three times larger than at London 2012.

The robust defence system will be headed up by over 45,000 police officers and a huge force of up to 18,000 soldiers.

France’s largest deployment of troops since World War Two aims to keep the 15 million visitors and 10,500 Olympic Games competitors safe.

This article originally appeared on The Sun and was reproduced with permission.