Darktrace Survey Reveals Over 80% of Pro Sports Organizations Experienced Cyber Incidents in Past 12 Months, AI Adoption Heightens Cybersecurity Importance
Key facts
- Darktrace Survey Reveals Over 80% of Pro Sports Organizations Experienced Cyber Incidents in Past 12 Months, AI Adoption Heightens Cybersecurity Importance
- A Darktrace survey found that 84% of pro sports organizations experienced cyber incidents in the last 12 months, with concerns rising about increased cyber risks due to AI adoption. While AI is being integrated into areas like stadium operations and fan engagement, an increase in phishing emails and attacks targeting VIPs has been observed.
- Source: PR Times
- Date: June 12, 2026
Direct answer
A Darktrace survey found that 84% of pro sports organizations experienced cyber incidents in the last 12 months, with concerns rising about increased cyber risks due to AI adoption. While AI is being integrated into areas like stadium operations and fan engagement, an increase in phishing emails and attacks targeting VIPs has been observed.
- Citation
- Darktrace Survey Reveals Over 80% of Pro Sports Organizations Experienced Cyber Incidents in Past 12 Months, AI Adoption Heightens Cybersecurity Importance (June 12, 2026), PR Times
- Source
- PR Times
- Date
- June 12, 2026
A Darktrace survey found that 84% of pro sports organizations experienced cyber incidents in the last 12 months, with concerns rising about increased cyber risks due to AI adoption. While AI is being integrated into areas like stadium operations and fan engagement, an increase in phishing emails and attacks targeting VIPs has been observed.
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- 📰 Published: June 12, 2026 at 20:13
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June 12, 2026
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Darktrace Japan K.K.
Darktrace's latest survey targeting the sports sector reveals that over 57% of professional sports organizations have experienced multiple cyber incidents in the past 12 months.
72% believe cyber risks will increase in the next 12 months as AI adoption accelerates in critical areas such as stadium operations, ticketing, fan engagement, and business management.
35% of professional sports organizations are implementing or planning to implement AI technology in stadium operations within the next 12 months.
Darktrace customers in the sports industry receive nearly 20% more phishing emails than customers in other industries.
Darktrace (LSE: DARK), a global leader in AI cybersecurity, today announced new research revealing that 84% of professional sports organizations have experienced a cyber incident in the past 12 months, with over half (57%) experiencing multiple incidents.
As professional sports capture global attention with the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Darktrace's new report, 'Cybersecurity in Global Sports: Threats, Signals, and Strategic Impact on a Digitized Industry,' sheds light on how AI is reshaping the risk landscape for professional sports. Attackers are using AI to craft more convincing phishing emails, tailoring lures to specific teams, venues, sponsors, executives, and events, and moving faster across complex digital environments. Meanwhile, sports organizations are also adopting AI into their own operations, creating new blind spots for security teams.
Darktrace's research found that 83% of cybersecurity professionals in the pro sports sector reported seeing AI used in cyberattacks against their organizations in the past 12 months, and 72% believe AI will increase cyber risks in the coming year. AI-driven cyber risks are particularly pronounced in professional sports due to the convergence of live events, high-value data, public scrutiny, fixed schedules, and extensive networks of partners and suppliers, offering attackers maximum attention, profit, and potential impact. The research indicates that the average cost of a cyber incident for professional sports organizations over the past 12 months was $169,000 USD. However, the actual damage is far greater: 57% reported experiencing multiple attacks, and 43% reported six to ten incidents in a single year. For each of these organizations, the cumulative annual cost could reach as high as $1.7 million.
The broader impact extends beyond financial losses. In the sports industry, compromised executive accounts, impersonated fan communications, disrupted ticketing systems, and leaked athlete data can lead to severe and direct harm to the public, as well as financial and reputational damage.
Security Concerns Grow as AI Adoption Accelerates
Across professional sports organizations, AI adoption is rapidly expanding from the back office to the pitch.
Security professionals surveyed by Darktrace reported that stadium operations would be the most impacted if compromised by a cyberattack (34%). Simultaneously, over a third (35%) stated they are already implementing AI in this function or plan to within the next 12 months, introducing new risks to a field where failure is not an option.
Similar patterns are emerging in other operational areas. A third of respondents are using or planning to use AI for ticketing operations and fan engagement, while 32% reported using AI for marketing and content generation. Yet, concurrently, many respondents express concerns about integrating AI into these critical systems. Nearly half of security professionals cited risks arising during AI development and deployment (47%) and risks from AI prompts and attacks (47%), with 35% pointing to shadow AI as a concern.
As professional sports organizations increasingly expand their use of AI into more critical operations, security teams need to understand what AI tools can access, what actions they can perform, and how they interact with sensitive systems and data, while also ensuring the AI infrastructure itself is not being targeted or misused.
Phishing and Identity Pose High Risks
Darktrace's telemetry data indicates that email and identity are the primary attack vectors in this sector. The research highlights that professional sports organizations are particularly susceptible to email phishing attacks, with Darktrace's sports industry customers receiving nearly 20% more phishing emails than customers in other industries. Darktrace / EMAIL™ detected over 116,000 phishing emails targeting the sports industry between October 2025 and March 2026. Of these, 21% targeted VIPs, 38% were spear-phishing, 84% passed DMARC authentication, and 37% contained novel social engineering characteristics.
"Professional sports is a high-pressure environment where timing is critical," said Nathaniel Jones, VP of Security and AI Strategy at Darktrace. "A suspicious login, unusual data movement, or an unexpected AI agent action – each might be a small event on its own, but during an event, it can quickly escalate into a significant operational issue. The most effective way for professional sports organizations to mitigate the internal and external risks they face today is to take a behavior-based approach to security. This means moving away from rules and signatures and focusing on understanding the behavior of humans and AI within the environment."
Taking Action to Stay Ahead of Evolving Risks
As the sports industry faces a new phase of risk, a behavior-based approach is becoming increasingly vital for ensuring the safety of organizations and events. Security teams need to understand what 'normal' looks like across the environments most critical to sports: people, identities, email, stadium systems, suppliers, and AI tools. This understanding of behavior can help detect threats designed to blend into normal activity, identifying risks from external attackers, compromised accounts, or AI agents acting beyond their intended roles.
Using a behavior-based AI approach, A
FAQ
Why are professional sports organizations vulnerable to cyberattacks?
High-value data, public attention, complex partnerships, and new vulnerabilities from AI adoption make them attractive targets for attackers.
What risks does AI pose to sports organizations?
AI can be exploited by attackers, and the organizations' own AI adoption can create new blind spots and vulnerabilities, increasing cyber risks.
How does Darktrace contribute to cybersecurity in the sports industry?
Through AI-powered, self-learning defenses, it detects and responds to unknown threats in real-time, addressing the unique risks of sports organizations.
Is the threat of phishing emails particularly severe in the sports industry?
Yes, according to the survey, sports industry customers receive about 20% more phishing emails than other industries, with an increase in attacks targeting VIPs.
How should sports organizations prepare for cybersecurity in the AI era?
Comprehensive security measures and risk management are necessary, including understanding AI usage and detecting anomalies with a behavior-based approach.