• Darktrace report warns AI amplifies cyber risk in professional sports
• 84% of clubs hit by incidents in past year; 83% saw AI used in attacks
• Average cost ~$170k per incident, with repeat hits driving annual losses up to $1.7M

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

A new report from Darktrace examined how the security risk of AI is twofold: on one end, there are criminals using the new tool to create convincing phishing lures, deepfakes, spoof brands and imitate professional athletes. On the other hand, there are sports clubs themselves using AI without proper safeguards, creating an entirely 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 all 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 sporting organizations.

That being 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 struck multiple times. What’s more, 83% detected the use of AI in these attacks, and 72% believe AI will increase cyber risk over the next year.

When it comes to damages, a single incident now costs around $170,000. While that might not sound like much for a professional sports team with high earnings, 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 cumulative annual cost can go to $1.7 million.

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Sead is a seasoned freelance journalist based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He writes about IT (cloud, IoT, 5G, VPN) and cybersecurity (ransomware, data breaches, laws and regulations). In his career, spanning more than a decade, he’s written for numerous media outlets, including Al Jazeera Balkans. He’s also held several modules on content writing for Represent Communications.