Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks with the media as he arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert) GEERT VANDEN WIJNGAERT / AP
Italy has thwarted a series of Russian cyberattacks targeting the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics, the foreign minister said Wednesday, February 4, as security operations ramp up with just hours to go.
Political leaders, including US Vice President JD Vance, are expected to attend Friday's opening ceremony, and security has become a fraught topic after it emerged that agents from ICE, the controversial US immigration enforcement agency, would be present.
Italy's interior minister Matteo Piantedosi stressed on Wednesday that ICE agents would have only an advisory role. ICE's Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arm will operate within US diplomatic missions only and "are not operational agents" and "have no executive function," he told parliament.
Just hours before the first sporting events, which begin Wednesday, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Italy has "foiled a series of cyberattacks" of "Russian origin." The attacks were "on foreign ministry offices, starting with Washington, and also some Winter Olympics sites, including hotels in Cortina," he said during a trip to the US city. His office did not provide further details.
