FFF falls victim to huge instance of cyberpiracy, leaving over 1.5 million licences at risk

The French Football Federation (FFF) has announced that it fell victim to a cyberpiracy attempt last Friday (22nd March), leaving 1.5 million player licences and therefore personal information at risk of being compromised, reports L’Équipe.

The Paris Prosecutor’s office confirmed the information initially reported in Le Parisien as well as specialist website Zataz.

The personal information includes names, surnames, postal addresses, email addresses, ages as well as the clubs to which the players are signed. On the other hand, it has been confirmed that the information of professional players is not at risk. 

The cybercrime website of the French government released a statement regarding the breach: 

“Only licences from the 2022/2023 and 2023/2024 seasons are liable to be affected. Passwords, bank details, medical information and identity photographs are not a concern however. The FFF will inform those affected by this breach of personal information individually, the FFF has also lodged a complaint with the CNIL ( Commission nationale de l’informatique et des libertés- The national IT and cyberfreedom commission).”

An initial investigation has been opened, with the affected parties at risk of having their details sold. As of now, the identity of the perpetrators is unknown. 

GFFN | Jack McArdle