Fancy Bear: Russia-linked hackers leak 'stolen emails and documents' from International Luge Federation

Alleged Russian hackers claimed to have leaked a series of documents and emails stolen from the International Luge Federation (FIL) just two weeks ahead of the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Going by the name "Fancy Bears' Hack Team", the group is believed to be linked to the notorious Fancy Bear hacking group that experts have tied to Russia's military intelligence group GRU.

In a lengthy statement on their website, the group wrote: "Today, prior to the Olympic Games in Pyeongchang we decided to call your attention to winter sports that have the same doping-related problems as track and field or football.

"The obtained documents of the International Luge Federation (FIL) show the violations of the principles of fair play: widespread TUE approvals, missed anti-doping tests and the double standards approach towards guilty athletes."

This leaked information has not been independently verified. The FIL has yet to publicly respond to the release.

Also known as APT28, Pawn Storm or Strontrium, the group has been tied to the Democratic National Committee (DNC) hack during the 2016 US presidential election. In September 2016, the group infiltrated the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) and began publishing a trove of private medical records belonging to top international athletes. The leak came after Wada recommended that Russian athletes be banned from the 2016 Rio Olympics over state-sponsored doping.

In April 2017, the International Association of Athletics Federations said its servers were compromised by the same cyberespionage group.

Last week, the hacker group released allegedly stolen emails belonging to officials from the International Olympic Committee, claiming that the leaked documents prove that "the Europeans and the Anglo-Saxons are fighting for power and cash in the sports world".

The latest release comes after Russia's Olympic team was banned from participating in the upcoming 2018 Winter Games in South Korea that begins on 9 February. Athletes who can establish they are clean of any doping substances can still compete under a neutral flag, officials said.

Some cybersecurity experts have warned that the cyberattacks and leaks are a retaliation against the anti-doping scandal and subsequent Olympic bans.

Earlier in January, cybersecurity firm Trend Micro reported that Fancy Bear has been targeting several organisations using spear phishing and credential phishing attacks during the summer and fall of 2017 to swipe sensitive data. Some of the group's targets included multiple International Olympic Wintersport Federations including the FIL, the European Ice Hockey Federation, the International Ski Federation, the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, and the International Biathlon Union.

"With the Olympics and several significant global elections taking place in 2018, we can be sure Pawn Storm's activities will continue," Trend Micro warned.