Cyber security meeting for sports clubs

The National Cyber Security Centre is hosting a cyber security meeting to help professional sports clubs and organisations protect themselves against cyber criminals.

The sports industry contributes £37 billion to the UK economy each year and is seen as a high-value target by cyber criminals, with at least 70 per cent of institutions suffering a cyber incident every 12 months - more than double the average for UK businesses.

The NCSC is hosting the first-ever sports cyber security summit for over 180 representatives from a range of clubs and organisations, including 11 Premier League and 35 English Football League teams, rugby and cricket clubs and a range of national governing bodies. The virtual meeting comes shortly after the publication of the NCSC’s Cyber Threat to the Sports Sector in 2020, which revealed cyber criminal activity including an attempt to sabotage a transfer deal involving a Premier League team.

Sarah Lyons, NCSC Deputy Director for Economy and Society, said: “We know that sports clubs and organisations are facing significant challenges managing the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, but that doesn't stop the UK sports industry being a highly attractive target for cyber criminals - and it's important that organisations are aware of this threat.

“It's great to see so many sports clubs and organisations coming together like this and showing they take cyber security seriously. Whether they were able to attend the summit or not, I would encourage all organisations in the sector to take the actionable steps set out in our ‘Cyber Threat to the Sports Sector’ report.”