Hacked again, FIFA awaits new revelations
FIFA acknowledged this week its computer systems were hacked earlier this year for the second time, and officials from European soccer’s governing body fear they also may have suffered a data breach.
The hack on FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, occurred in March and is not thought to be connected to a cyberattack orchestrated by a group linked to Russia’s intelligence agency in 2017. That incident led to the publication of a list of failed drug tests by soccer players.
The information that was compromised in the second cyberattack on FIFA is not yet clear, but a consortium of European media organisations plans to publish a series of stories based in part on the internal documents as early as Friday. The group Football Leaks originally obtained the documents.
UEFA officials were targeted in a phishing operation in which third parties fool their targets into giving up password-protected login details, though the organisation has been unable to find traces of a hack in its computer systems.
In recent weeks, both FIFA and UEFA have received hundreds of questions, including several related to information contained in confidential documents.
FIFA officials discussed the prospect of a new hack, and more uncomfortable revelations in the news media, on the edges of the FIFA Council meeting last week in Kigali, Rwanda.
Information published by Football Leaks has rattled global soccer since 2015, when stolen documents emerged on a specially created website. Since the
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initial leak, a trove of emails, contracts and private messages have been obtained exclusively by the German weekly newsmagazine Der Spiegel.
THE HACK ON FIFA OCCURRED IN MARCH AND IS NOT THOUGHT TO BE CONNECTED TO AN EARLIER HACK BY A RUSSIAN GROUP IN 2017
DUBIOUS PRACTICES
The leaks have uncovered some of soccer’s biggest secrets, shining light on dubious practices that have led to tougher regulations in soccer and in some cases, criminal prosecutions. FIFA earlier this year announced planned changes to the $6 billion transfer market, in part as a response to dealing unveiled by Football Leaks, and Spanish authorities have successfully prosecuted top players and coaches for tax evasion.