Thematic Intelligence: Cybersecurity in Sport (2024)

No company is safe from cyberattacks, but sports organizations are more vulnerable than most. The business of sport naturally accrues a large amount of sensitive data, from fans’ personal data to performance data on athletes. The UK National Cyber Security Centre survey found that more than 70% of sports organizations had experienced a cybersecurity breach, more than double the UK average.

Sports teams, federations, broadcasters, and sponsors are all vulnerable to attacks due to their significant revenues, the exposure any attack will receive, and the multiple entry points that result from their distributed communications. Attacks are carried out by various malicious actors, such as financial hackers, nation-state actors, or competitors, all using different techniques, such as spear phishing, ransomware, targeted malware, or distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS).

Data and revenues make sports organizations cyber targets > No company is safe from cyberattacks, but sports organizations are more vulnerable than most. The business of sport naturally accrues a large amount of sensitive data, from fans’ personal data to performance data on athletes. The UK National Cyber Security Centre survey found that more than 70% of sports organizations had experienced a cybersecurity breach, more than double the UK average.

Sports teams, federations, broadcasters, and sponsors are all vulnerable to attacks due to their significant revenues, the exposure any attack will receive, and the multiple entry points that result from their distributed communications. Attacks are carried out by various malicious actors, such as financial hackers, nation-state actors, or competitors, all using different techniques, such as spear phishing, ransomware, targeted malware, or distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS).

Sport provides an international stage for cyberattacks > Events and international bodies provide a global stage for hackers. Nation-state-sponsored attacks have occurred in the sports industry, usually in response to regulations and sanctions against countries and athletes. For example, in 2016, the Russian cyber espionage group Fancy Bear stole and published confidential medical files from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in response to WADA’s independent investigation into Russian athletes. The Russian-Ukraine War has also caused a backlash from sports organizations and sponsors, with Russian athletes banned from playing and the country itself banned from hosting events. Russian athletes must compete as ‘neutral’ athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics, increasing the likelihood of Russian state-sponsored cyberattacks targeting the event.

The industry must overprepare for the cyber threat > By 2027, global cybersecurity revenues will have reached $290 billion. Partnerships with IT specialists and cybersecurity vendors should be at the top of the agenda due to a lack of in-house skills. Cybersecurity vendor Cisco is active in the sports industry, partnering with the NFL to ensure end-to-end security for the Super Bowl and with NBCUniversal to protect coverage of the Olympics. The most successful clubs, federations, and broadcasters will be those with strong partnerships with cybersecurity vendors.

Key Highlights

• No company is safe from cyberattacks, but sports organizations are more vulnerable than most. The business of sport naturally accrues a large amount of sensitive data, from fans’ personal data to performance data on athletes.
• Events and international bodies provide a global stage for hackers. Russian athletes must compete as ‘neutral’ athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics, increasing the likelihood of Russian state-sponsored cyberattacks targeting the event.
• By 2027, global cybersecurity revenues will have reached $290 billion. Partnerships with IT specialists and cybersecurity vendors should be at the top of the agenda due to a lack of in-house skills. The most successful clubs, federations, and broadcasters will be those with strong partnerships with cybersecurity vendors.

Scope

• This report provides an overview of the cybersecurity theme and looks at its impact on the sport sector.
• The report outlines the main challenges facing the sports industry and how these challenges increase the need for cybersecurity. It also identifies the leading companies in this space, as well as those falling behind.
• It includes selected case studies highlighting cyberattack prevention strategies in sport, as well as industry cyberattacks.
• The report also includes a comprehensive data analysis, including market size and growth forecasts for cybersecurity.

Reasons to Buy

• The analyst’s thematic research ecosystem is a single, integrated global research platform that provides an easy-to-use framework for tracking all themes across all companies in all sectors.
• This report is essential for senior executives at both current and prospective sporting sponsor companies, as well as those in sporting federations, to understand the business benefits that derive from integrating cybersecurity in the sports industry.
• In addition, the report identifies the technology vendors that are leading across the cybersecurity sports market.
• The report also uncovers the sporting sponsorship brands and sporting federations excelling in the cybersecurity theme in the sports industry.