Hackers are targeting Premier League football clubs as they look for ways to cash in on cyberattacks against Britain’s multibillion-pound sports sector, according to a UK intelligence agency.

In a report detailing widespread targeting of sporting institutions, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre highlighted a case where the emails of a managing director at a Premier League team were hacked before a transfer negotiation. As a result, the club almost lost £1mil in the hack by cyber criminals, the report said.

Evidence of attacks against sporting bodies is the latest example of the threat posed by hackers, following claims that Russian state intelligence is hacking international research centers working on a coronavirus vaccine. The UK report on sport didn’t specify where the attacks came from.

“The impact of cyber criminals cashing in on the industry is very real,” said Paul Chichester, director of operations at the NCSC, in comments that accompanied the report. “I would urge sporting bodies to use this time to look at where they can improve their cybersecurity.”

At least 70% of major sporting organisations suffer a cyber incident every 12 months, more than double the average for UK businesses, according to the NCSC report. Of those incidents, about 30% caused financial damage, with an average cost of £10,000 per incident. The biggest single loss was £4mil , the report said.

 - Bloomberg