News(CNN)

News(CNN)Rio de Janeiro has long had a reputation for dangerous favelas, with muggings and kidnappings not uncommon. But authorities are stepping up measures to tackle a different kind of security threat altogether when the Rio Olympic Games begin August 5.

Wary that the international sporting event is a potential prime target for terrorists, Brazilian forces have been working with specialist French SWAT teams to simulate attack scenarios.

In one drill, Brazil special forces and a police dog chase down an armed gunman to thwart a possible attack on Rio's subway system. The dramatic display is meant to reassure journalists that a country with limited experience in handling terrorism is ready for the unthinkable.

"There is not a specific threat," said Lt. Gen. Luiz Linhares with the Brazilian Ministry of Defense. "You have to screen for a great (spectrum) of threat."

The Brazilian government said it is not taking any chances -- especially after the recent terror attacks around the world, including in Turkey, Bangladesh, Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Security is visible at a checkpoint Tuesday at the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro.

Linhares said authorities will be screening the ticket names of the hundreds of thousands coming for the Rio Olympics, South America's first games.

Brazil's intelligence agency reported in April that the number of those influenced by ISIS ideology had increased in recent months but insisted there was no threat to the Olympics.

Brazil mostly lacks the presence of extremist networks that terrorists rely upon, but at least one ISIS fighter tweeted after the November 2015 Paris attacks that Brazil would be next. Several ISIS members have launched a Telegram channel in Portuguese, the official language of Brazil.

The UK government's latest travel warning advises citizens going to Brazil that "there is an underlying threat from terrorism. Attacks, although unlikely, could be indiscriminate, including in places frequented by foreigners."

There have been no major terror attacks in Brazil in recent years, but Peter Martin, CEO of security firm AFIMAC Global, said the country does have serious organized crime issues and therefore could leverage high-level training to combat that problem within the Brazilian special forces.

"When you're going after gangs like that, there are a lot of similarities to terrorists with intercepted communications, informants trying to penetrate the organization, trying to understand what the next target is," Martin said.

"It is different, but a lot of the methodologies apply. Brazil has been doing that for a long time."Rio's horror week: Body parts wash up near Olympics volleyball stadium