Security in Rio Questioned After Olympian Mugged

Security in Rio Questioned After Olympian Mugged

  • By Sydny Shepard
  • Jun 21, 2016

If it can be a problem, it is a problem for the Rio, the city that will host the 2016 Summer Olympics. Security professionals have doubted Rio’s ability to secure the event since the beginning and the discovery of Zika virus hasn’t helped the situation.

The most recent problem to hit the Rio Olympics is athlete safety. Australian Olympic authorities say they want greater security for athletes in Rio immediately, after a gold-medal winning paralympian was mugged in the city at gunpoint.

The six-time Australian Paralympics athlete Liesl Tesch had her bike stolen at a bus stop near her hotel on Sunday morning by two men, who threatened her and sailing team member Sarah Ross with a pistol.

In a statement made by Australian Olympic team Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller said the mugging was a “major concern” and called for extra police and security for the athletes.

"The Paralympic sailors were confronted by the men in broad daylight; it was 7:30 in the morning, and right near their accommodation. There were people around but no-one came to their assistance," Chiller said.

Rio Olympic officials have put together a 100,000 member security force due to start working by the opening ceremony on August 5, but Chiller says she had written Rio asking for the organizers to mobilize their security sooner.

"This is not an isolated incident, athletes have been mugged while training and competing in Rio test events and we want our athletes protected," Chiller said.

Neither women were harmed in the incident, but were shaken after the robbery, which was reported to the police.

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

Featured

  • Ransomware Attacks Rise for the First Time in Six Months

    Ransomware attacks have risen for the first time in six months, increasing by 28% month-on-month to 421 attacks. While overall attack volume remained below 500, the uptick may signal a renewed escalation heading into the year’s most active period for cyber criminals. Read Now

  • Report: 47 Percent of Security Service Providers Are Not Yet Using AI or Automation Tools

    Trackforce, a provider of security workforce management platforms, today announced the launch of its 2025 Physical Security Operations Benchmark Report, an industry-first study that benchmarks both private security service providers and corporate security teams side by side. Based on a survey of over 300 security professionals across the globe, the report provides a comprehensive look at the state of physical security operations. Read Now

    • Guard Services

  • Identity Governance at the Crossroads of Complexity and Scale

    Modern enterprises are grappling with an increasing number of identities, both human and machine, across an ever-growing number of systems. They must also deal with increased operational demands, including faster onboarding, more scalable models, and tighter security enforcement. Navigating these ever-growing challenges with speed and accuracy requires a new approach to identity governance that is built for the future enterprise. Read Now

  • Eagle Eye Networks Launches AI Camera Gun Detection

    Eagle Eye Networks, a provider of cloud video surveillance, recently introduced Eagle Eye Gun Detection, a new layer of protection for schools and businesses that works with existing security cameras and infrastructure. Eagle Eye Networks is the first to build gun detection into its platform. Read Now

  • Report: AI is Supercharging Old-School Cybercriminal Tactics

    AI isn’t just transforming how we work. It’s reshaping how cybercriminals attack, with threat actors exploiting AI to mass produce malicious code loaders, steal browser credentials and accelerate cloud attacks, according to a new report from Elastic. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • Luma x20

    Luma x20

    Snap One has announced its popular Luma x20 family of surveillance products now offers even greater security and privacy for home and business owners across the globe by giving them full control over integrators’ system access to view live and recorded video. According to Snap One Product Manager Derek Webb, the new “customer handoff” feature provides enhanced user control after initial installation, allowing the owners to have total privacy while also making it easy to reinstate integrator access when maintenance or assistance is required. This new feature is now available to all Luma x20 users globally. “The Luma x20 family of surveillance solutions provides excellent image and audio capture, and with the new customer handoff feature, it now offers absolute privacy for camera feeds and recordings,” Webb said. “With notifications and integrator access controlled through the powerful OvrC remote system management platform, it’s easy for integrators to give their clients full control of their footage and then to get temporary access from the client for any troubleshooting needs.”

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.

  • ResponderLink

    ResponderLink

    Shooter Detection Systems (SDS), an Alarm.com company and a global leader in gunshot detection solutions, has introduced ResponderLink, a groundbreaking new 911 notification service for gunshot events. ResponderLink completes the circle from detection to 911 notification to first responder awareness, giving law enforcement enhanced situational intelligence they urgently need to save lives. Integrating SDS’s proven gunshot detection system with Noonlight’s SendPolice platform, ResponderLink is the first solution to automatically deliver real-time gunshot detection data to 911 call centers and first responders. When shots are detected, the 911 dispatching center, also known as the Public Safety Answering Point or PSAP, is contacted based on the gunfire location, enabling faster initiation of life-saving emergency protocols.