Hackers don’t cheer and they also take it out on football clubs: after the attack against Liverpool in 2018, now it’s Manchester Utd’s turn
New hacker attack to the detriment of the sports world: this time, to end up in the grip of cyber criminals was Manchester United. It happened late on Friday, when some cyber criminals tried to hit the internal management system of the British soccer team.
What happened is yet another attempt by cyber criminals to strike against the world of English sport. A few hours after the hacker attack against the football team that currently plays in the Premier League, it has been in fact beaten a further news about four British athletes, whose names have not been revealed, who would have suffered a violation of their smartphones. In this case, however, the stolen photos and videos have ended up on the net, becoming public domain despite being particularly intimate content.
Hacker attack against Manchester United, what happened
Although investigations by cybersecurity experts are still underway, the team’s spokespersons have anticipated to the press some information about the incident. According to the club, cyber security officers detected a sophisticated hacking attack, but managed to undertake some operations quickly in order to contain any damage.
From an update disclosed by the team, the attackers were not able to reach the personal or sensitive data of fans and subscribers, registered in the football club’s databases. The confirmation came in the second instance, after a thorough audit of the computer systems. Thanks to the quick counter-offensive, the hackers would not have had the time or the way to access the information of the fans in the club’s archives, nor those of the buyers of the store present on the official website of Manchester United.
Hacking attack, English soccer in the eye of the crosshairs
Manchester United is the second English football club to fall victim to a hacking attack. In 2018, in fact, it was the turn of another historic club, Liverpool FC, only on that occasion cyber criminals managed to access the internal network, taking away a copy of the data related to the team’s fans deposited in internal databases.
At least another team, whose name has not been revealed, has become entangled in the cybercrime network. According to a report by the UK’s National Cyber Security Center, a ransomware attack on the team attempted to lock the stadium’s turnstiles if the crooks failed to pay the amount of money they had set. Luckily, however, experts were able to contain the problem in time, allowing fans access to the stadium.