On September 13th, 2016, a Russian hacking group known as the “Fancy Bears” leaked secret medical information on more than 25 Olympic athletes. Of these athletes, 10 were targeted from the U.S. The hackers believe that some athletes were performing illegal actions in order to enhance their performances during the Rio Olympics, even though athletes received approval to use their medications.

Simone Biles, the young, all-star gymnast who earned four gold medals during the Rio Olympics, was one of the many athletes targeted. Biles posted on Twitter after hearing the news about her hacked medical records, “I have ADHD and have taken medicine for it since I was a kid. Please know, I believe in clean sport, have always followed the rules, and will continue to do so as fair play is critical to sport and is very important to me.”

Venus Williams, a seven time major champion and silver medalist, was also targeted by the international hacking group. Williams responded to the attack by saying, “I was disappointed to learn today that my private medical data has been compromised by hackers and published without my permission. I have followed the rules established under the Tennis Anti-Doping Program in applying for, and being granted, therapeutic use exemptions.”

Professional basketball player Elena Delle Donne responded to her attack by posting, “I would like to thank the hackers for making the world aware that I legally take a prescription for a condition I’ve been diagnosed with which WADA granted me an exemption for. Thanks guys!”

Not only are the “Fancy Bears” upsetting major professional athletes around the world, but some believe that these Russian hackers are the same group behind the Democratic National Committee hack in June. This hack uncovered and released sensitive political data and caused the committee chairman to resign.

With so many athletes’ personal information already compromised, the question being asked is: will the hackers stop here, or are they planning another attack against Olympic athletes? The World Anti-Doping Agency expects that the hacking group will make more athletes information public in the future, releasing the data “in batches,” said WADA. These attacks, some believe, are meant to ruin athletes’ reputations despite the fact that they have followed all the rules in receiving approval to use their medication. Others suspect that the hacking group’s motive is to get back at the countries who supported banning Russian athletes from the 2016 Olympics due to doping problems. Whatever the motive behind these attacks, in order to help these athletes, the public needs to remember not to criticize them for their use of prescribed medication and recognize their accomplishments under clean sport and fair play.

Citation: Mullen, Jethro, and Ivana Kottasova. “Russian Hackers Release Secret Data of 25 More Olympic Athletes.” CNNMoney. Cable News Network, 15 Sept. 2016. Web. 21 Sept. 2016.