The North American National Basketball Association (NBA) has issued a warning to its fans about a recent data breach that has resulted in the theft of some personal information. In a statement, the NBA revealed that the data breach affected only those users who have agreed to receive emails from a third-party platform that was engaged in the distribution of sports news.
The NBA is a global sports organization that governs five professional sports leagues, including the NBA, WNBA, Basketball Africa League, NBA G League, and NBA 2K League. With games broadcast in over 215 countries and in more than 50 languages, the NBA has millions of fans worldwide.
In the “Cyber Security Incident Notification” emails sent to an undisclosed number of fans, the NBA confirmed that its own systems were not compromised, and user credentials were not accessed. However, some personal information of some users was stolen, including names and email addresses. This data was stored by a third-party mail service provider that distributes sports news.
The NBA immediately launched an investigation, bringing in cybersecurity experts to analyze the extent of the data breach. While the NBA’s own systems were not breached, the association warned that affected individuals could become targets of phishing attacks and other types of fraud in the near future.
The NBA urged all fans to remain vigilant and to double-check the sender of any suspicious emails. Fans were reminded that under no circumstances would the NBA ever need information about user accounts, including logins and passwords. The NBA also advised fans not to click on links or open email attachments from unknown sources, as these are methods of attack that can infect computers with malware.