Draft security threats valid but experts say minimal

Whenever Ravens coach John Harbaugh would come across an article about video conferencing platform Zoom and the security issues related to it, he would send a link to his team’s information technology staff – perhaps as something of a warning.

Sure, Harbaugh acknowledged to reporters this month, he has some concerns about whether his private information is being protected online. “( Our IT staffers) assure me that we are doing everything humanly possible,” Harbaugh told reporters, “and I remind them that that’s what Wells Fargo and all those other places said about our private information.”

Harbaugh is not alone. As the first virtual iteration of the NFL draft approaches Thursday, coaches and team executives who have long been paranoid about protecting their playbooks and player evaluations must confront a new possibility: That their private draftday discussions could be intercepted, interrupted or otherwise hacked.

But experts told USA TODAY that some of the cybersecurity concerns related to the draft are valid.

“It’s such a high- profile target,” said Dave Levin, a faculty member in the Maryland Cybersecurity Center at the University of Maryland. “You could compromise it to send out a message. You could shut it down just for ( kicks) and giggles. There are myriad reasons ( to want to attack this).”

The NFL conducted a mock draft with representatives from each team Monday to test their draft- night systems and ensure that team personnel were comfortable using the technology.

League spokesperson Brian McCarthy told USA TODAY each team is responsible for setting up its own communication channels while the league is working with its partners, including Microsoft and Verizon, to make sure everything runs smoothly. “We are not disclosing our cybersecurity measures other than to say they are comprehensive and thoughtful,” he wrote in an email.

Experts said the use of hundreds of home networks rather than one centralized hub doesn’t pose a dire risk.