Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in Washington on Wednesday, announced that his nation’s security agencies had “foiled a series of cyberattacks” of “Russian origin.”

Tajani said the attempted attacks targeted numerous “Foreign Ministry offices, starting with Washington, and also some Winter Olympics sites, including hotels in Cortina.”

Past Olympic-related cyberattacks came in Paris in 2024, and Pyeongchang in 2018. It is widely thought that Russian actors were behind them.

Russian bans from games — both for doping infractions as well as its war of aggression in Ukraine — are seen as motivation for such acts of aggression.

British intelligence services say Russian hackers were also eyeballing attacks on Tokyo in 2021.

Russia has been excluded from this year’s event over Ukraine. However, 13 Russian and 7 Belarus athletes have been allowed to compete as neutrals alongside 3,500 global Olympians. 

Diverse Olympic protests and highly policed ‘red zones’

The northern Italian city of Milan and the neighboring Cortina d’Ampezzo region are hosting this year’s Winter Olympics between February 6 and 22.

Some 2 million visitors are expected, including 60,000 at Friday’s opening ceremonies at San Siro Stadium in Milan, which will be attended by US Vice President JD Vance among others.

Numerous protests are scheduled to take place throughout the course of the event, they will highlight issues ranging from the environmental destruction caused by the Olympic business model to Israel’s inclusion in the games despite the situation in Gaza.

Police say Milan’s city center will be declared a “red zone” closed to all pedestrian and vehicular traffic beginning on Friday.

Authorities say they have stepped up security checks at border crossings and rail stations, and that K-9 and bomb crews are conducting regular security sweeps at Olympic venues.

Additionally, snipers have been deployed across the network of tightly controlled red zone sites.

Not the ICE that Italians want at their Olympics

Controversially, a contingent of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents has also been dispatched to the event. Italian citizens and politicians have bristled at the idea that agents from the US domestic agency should be allowed to patrol their streets. Especially in light of negative headlines the agency has made with its deadly policing in Minneapolis.

Italian Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi on Wednesday said US counterparts from ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) would serve solely in an advisory capacity.

“ICE does not and will never be able to carry out operational police activities on our national territory,” Piantedosi said.

He said it was entirely normal for such forces to be deployed, noting that Italy had done the same in Paris in 2024. He also called anger voiced by regional citizens and political leaders over the presence of US agents “completely unfounded.”

24-hour Olympic Operations Room in Rome will coordinate security

Beyond fending off cyber attacks, Italian authorities say some 6,000 police and 2,000 military personnel have been deployed across the region stretching from Milan to the Dolomites.

Italy’s Defense Ministry is providing hardware including hundreds of trucks as well as aircraft, drones and radar to secure the event.

Bomb experts, anti-terror outfits, snipers and skiing police will all be on site said Interior Minister Piantedosi.

Overall security for the event will be coordinated remotely, at the Rome-based International Olympic Operations Room (SOIO). The command center will run around the clock from start to finish, coordinating numerous international and national operations and police headquarters.

Nationally, this means coordination with police in the northern Italian cities of Bolzano, Milan, Sondrio, Trento, Venice and Verona. 

“Officers from foreign police forces, as well as Interpol and Europol personnel, will be present to ensure timely information-sharing and the management of ⁠any critical issues requiring international cooperation,” read a police statement.

Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez

Warzone and Black Ops 7 Season 2 Battle Pass is set to launch on February 5, 2025, at 9 am PT. The new BlackCell BP has also been revealed in an official YouTube video and the Call of Duty blog. The headline skin in the pass is likely the Phantom BlackCell Operator skin. It’s a more grounded mil-sim-focused cosmetic addition to the game that fans may appreciate.

This article will go over the brand new Warzone and Black Ops 7 Season 2 Battle Pass and explain what it includes.

Warzone and Black Ops 7 Season 2 Battle Pass and BlackCell Price

Warzone and Black Ops 7 Season 2 Battle Pass is available in the usual three tiers, which are:

• Standard Battle Pass: 1,100 COD Points ($9.99)
• Battle Pass Bundle: 2,400 COD Points.
• BlackCell: $29.99

All three tiers offer different rewards to players, with the BP bundle granting you 20 Battle Pass Tokens and BlackCell providing additional cosmetics. The theme this time seems to focus on mil-sim versions of popular Operators such as Mason and Kagan. Here’s more.

What’s included in Warzone and Black Ops 7 Season 2 Battle Pass and BlackCell?

After purchasing the Black Ops 7 Season 2 Battle Pass, you’ll be able to gain access to the Instant Rewards Page, which will offer the following items:

• 10% Battle Pass XP Boost
• The “Sage” Operator Skin for the new Victoria Atwood Operator plus a BlackCell variant for those who purchase BlackCell
• The “Malcontent” Legendary Blueprint for the Razor 9mm
• The “Arm Up” Animated Calling Card
• The “Warped Skull” Emblem

As usual, you can play games to gain XP and make progress in the Warzone and Black Ops 7 Season 2 Battle Pass. Similarly, if you purchase BlackCell, you’ll gain rewards from the BlackCell Instant Rewards page:

• The “Phantom” BlackCell Operator
• The “Eclipse” BlackCell alternate Skin for Phantom.
• 1,100 COD Points
• The “Initiator” Mastercraft Blueprint for the AK-27 Assault Rifle with Tracers and Death FX
• The alternate “Fatalist” Mastercraft Blueprint for the AK-27 Assault Rifle with Tracers and Death FX
• The “Sic ’Em” Companion Finishing Move
• The “Go Time” Gun Screen
• The “BlackCell” Clan Tag (showcased in Lobbies and Winner’s Circles)
• The Season 02 HUD Theme (BlackCell only)
• 10% XP Loyalty Boost

Players can also unlock bonus content by playing the game and unlocking various pages. They can earn seven BlackCell exclusive skins, including the following:

• Instant Reward Page: The “Sage” BlackCell Skin for Atwood
• BP Completion Page: The “Axial” BlackCell Skin for Atwood
• Page 2: The “Zenith” BlackCell Skin for Mason
• Page 4: The “Prognosis” BlackCell Skin for Falkner
• Page 7: The “Guardsman” BlackCell Skin for Nikolai
• Page 9: The “Devious” BlackCell Skin for Vermaak
• Page 12: The “Forgenought” Skin for Reaper EWR-3

Furthermore, seven BlackCell Weapons Blueprints will also be available to the players, including:

• Page 1: The “Paragon BlackCell” Blueprint for the MXR-17 Assault Rifle
• Page 5: The “Deregulator BlackCell” Blueprint for the Warden 308 Marksman Rifle
• Page 8: The “Big Pill BlackCell” Blueprint for the VS Recon Sniper Rifle
• Page 10: The “Slim Chance BlackCell” Blueprint for the M10 Breacher Shotgun
• Page 11: The “Accendo BlackCell” Blueprint for the REV-46 SMG
• Page 13: The “Biosiphon BlackCell” Blueprint for the RK-9 SMG
• Page 14: The “Photon BlackCell” Blueprint for the ERGT-17 Assault Rifle

Also read: Warzone and Black Ops 7 Season 2 release countdown

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