Professional sports organisations have been urged to tighten their cybersecurity after it was revealed hackers attempted to sabotage a Premier League transfer deal.
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said the email address of a Premier League club’s managing director had been hacked during a transfer negotiation and only intervention from the bank prevented the club losing around £1m.
It was one of several incidents highlighted as evidence that sport needed to improve its cybersecurity as it faced increased pressure from cybercriminals – a Football League club was hit by ransomware that cut off its security systems, blocking turnstiles and almost resulting in a fixture postponement.
The Cyber Threat to Sports Organisations report also revealed that a member of staff at a racecourse lost £15,000 after attempting to buy groundskeeping equipment from a spoofed version of eBay. The NCSC said its report found hackers were trying to compromise sporting organisations on a daily basis, often by targeting business email or using ransomware to shut down critical systems. It has urged clubs and businesses to put security measures in place and back up data to help prevent such incidents.
