Will the WC be safe? New report finds huge increase in cyber attacks targeting professional sports organizations

Darktrace report warns AI amplifies cyber risk in professional sports
84% of clubs affected by incidents in the past year; 83% saw AI used in attacks
Average price ~$170,000 per incident, with repeated hits leading to annual losses of up to $1.7m.

Modern sports clubs operate like most large businesses, and as such are targeted by cybercriminals – however, the risk from the use of AI is even more amplified in this industry compared to others.

A new report from Darktrace explored how the security risk of AI is two-fold: On the one hand, there are criminals who use the new tool to create convincing phishing lures, deepfakes, spoof brands and impersonate professional athletes. On the other hand, there are sports clubs that use artificial intelligence themselves without proper safeguards, creating a whole new risk surface that can be exploited.

According to Darktrace, this risk is amplified in professional sports “where live events, high-value data, public pressure, fixed schedules and large networks of partners and suppliers intersect at once to offer attackers maximum publicity, profit and potential impact.”

Rising costs

To create the report, Darktrace used telemetry data from sports organizations as well as the results of a survey of 875 security decision makers and influencers at professional sports organizations.

That said, more than four in five (84%) of professional sports organizations experienced at least one cyber incident in the past 12 months, while more than half (57%) were hit multiple times. What’s more, 83% detected the use of artificial intelligence in these attacks, and 72% believe that artificial intelligence will increase cyber risk over the next year.

When it comes to damages, a single incident now costs about $170,000. While that may not sound like much for a high-grossing professional sports team, it’s worth mentioning that 57% were hit more than once, and 43% reported between six and 10 incidents in a single year. Therefore, the total annual costs can go to 1.7 million dollars.