The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed Tuesday that hackers accessed a database of confidential medical data and released the drug regimens of gymnast Simone Biles, tennis superstar, Serena Willams and two other top US Olympians.
WADA claimed that the Russian government was behind the move.
The anti-doping agency which is responsible for screening Olympic athletes for performance-enhancing substances, said the attack was carried out by “Fancy Bear,” Russian government-sponsored hacking group.
The hackers used a technique known as spear phishing to gain access to the Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) database through an account that was created by the International Olympic Committee, the agency said in a statement.
The records revealed are those of Simone Biles; female basketball captain Elena Delle Donne, Serena and Venus Williams, two former winning US Olympians in Tennis who were eliminated in the most recent Olympic games.
According to the documents, Biles tested positive for the psychostimulant methylphenidate and was also taking amphetamine.
Donne, meanwhile, took hydrocortisone, while Serena Williams purportedly took oxycodone and hydromorphone, prednisone, prednisolone, and methylprednisolone, and her sister Venus used to take prednisone, prednisolone, triamcinolone, and formoterol.
In a statement issued to Newsweek, Olympics officials said none of the athletes singled out on the Fancy Bear website had broken any rules.
Those rules grant exemptions for the therapeutic use of banned substances.
See screenshot of the hackers’ post
