The World Anti-Doping Association's (WADA) database has been under attack for weeks, its president Craig Reedie told the BBC Wednesday. Reedie's remarks came a day after WADA revealed the Russian cyber-espionage group Tsar Team (APT28), also known as Fancy Bears, had broken into its Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS) database. The hacking group released information gleaned from the files of US Olympic gymnastic star Biles, tennis legends the Williams sisters and US women's basketball player Elena Delle Donne, claiming US athletes at the Olympics had ‘played well but not fair'. Reedie, who is also a senior member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said there was little doubt despite denials by the Russian government the hackers came from Russia. "We have pretty authoritative information that they have close connections to Russia," said Reedie. "They have been attacking our system now for weeks. "We have been under attack for weeks. This is an attack on the anti-doping system and it's rather unhelpful at the moment," added Reedie in reference to the ongoing efforts to bring Russia into line after the damning WADA-commissioned independent report that revealed state sponsored doping dating back to the 2013 World Athletics Championships and the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. "Russia have claimed at the very highest level that they understand they have a problem, but they still seem in some ways to be in denial. If we have to make the biggest country in the world compliant in anti-doping terms, then this is distinctly unhelpful." None of the documents published by the group provided evidence of wrongdoing on the part of the athletes involved. Instead, the disclosed files set out instances where the athletes had been granted exemptions to use various medications for legitimate reasons. WADA said it believed the latest breach had occurred after "spear phishing" of email accounts and that it had been confined to ADAMS accounts of athletes competing in Rio. Spear phishing is when an email user receives a message purportedly from someone they know, but it is actually from a hacker. The data breach comes just weeks after hackers gained access to WADA's file on Russian doping whistleblower Yulia Stepanova. Stepanova, who is living in hiding in the United States, later said she feared for her life following the hack. Russia minister denies links Russia's sports minister Wednesday denied there had been any Russian government involvement in the hacking of the WADA computer. "No. How, how," the minister Vitaly Mutko told reporters on the sidelines of a UEFA congress when asked whether there were Russian state links to the Fancy Bears hacking group blamed for the computer operation. He said no proof had been given of the WADA accusations Tuesday that Russian hackers breached its database and published confidential records. "How can you prove that they are hackers from Russia. You blame Russia for everything," Mutko said through a translator.
