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Data and other forms or proprietary information are the lifeblood of the sports industry, and teams must be proactive when it comes to addressing the cyber risks they face which could impact business operations, fans, and reputation.

Cyber Risk and the Sports Industry

Massive quantities of analytic and statistical data are being stored and accessed in the cloud; team proprietary information is moving outside of stadium boarders; and new league mandates are putting increased pressure on professional sports teams to maintain world-class data risk management programs. Valorr partners with professional sports franchises and their front offices to improve digital risk management capabilities, security effectiveness, and data confidentiality, so teams can maintain their unique competitive advantages and ensure the game takes place on a level playing field.

Valorr Visibility In Professional Sports

Visibility Into Your Most Challenging Digital Risks

TOP DIGITAL RISK TRACKER

Risk Insight

The attacker sends an email link directing a user to a fake login page. Upon entering the user’s login and password, the attacker is able to steal this information and use it for unauthorized access to their account. Many times, attackers use credentials for a compromised account towards attempting to gain access to other account. This is typically successful due to many users, reusing passwords across websites and digital accounts. Check out our latest guidance and insights on this evolving risk.

Risk Insight

Resulting from either a natural disaster, utility failure, or combination of that may result in a vendor’s inability to provide critical services to your team. For example, the primary ticketing system goes down, an hour before gametime. Because this system operates as a single ‘source of truth’ for the available tickets left, lines are fans are left waiting at the gate. Fans being forced to wait leads to fans leaving the ballpark. This example, well not relevant to every sized organization, demonstrates both the short and potentially greater term impacts of vendor access. Check out our latest guidance and insights on this evolving risk.

Risk Insight

An attacker either physically obtains a player electronic wearable or digitally accesses a player analytic database. Having access to this information can lead not only to negative reputational damage and financial impact but can affect the competitive team/player advantage if intellectual property were to fall in the wrong hands. Data theft can occur through many forms such social engineering, phishing, or applying internal or vendor system vulnerabilities to gain access. Check out our latest guidance and insights on this evolving risk.

Risk Insight

Attackers use a group of compromised computers known as a ‘botnet’ to flood a website with requests to access its contents. If appropriate protections aren’t in place this results in a complete website crash or inability to access specific webpages. Check out our latest guidance and insights on this evolving risk.

REVELANT NEWS

1
The future of NFTs isn’t just digital
2
The digital athlete and how it’s revolutionizing player health and safety
3
Digital executives: feeling overwhelmed by the pace and volume of new technology? you’re not alone
4
Ump Cam, designed by RF wireless systems, debuts during MLB all-star game
5
How wearable tech is transforming a couch’s decision-making

VENDOR EXPOSURE

Vendor Criticality: Highly Critical

On average, these systems are expose private equity firms to the most risk. No other tools exposes organizations to as much opportunity risk as productivity tools such as Microsoft 365, Google Suite and others. PE firms heavily utilize spreadsheets (Excel / Google Sheets), presentations (Powerpoint / Slides), and documents (Word / Docs). Much of the analysis and presentation of information happens in these ubiquitous applications.

Vendor Criticality: Highly Critical

On average, these systems are expose private equity firms to the most risk. As with all companies, PE firms use software to track their finances and accounting. Because their finances are very tied with those of their portfolio companies, firms will often use a package that combines portfolio management and reporting with its own finance/accounting.

Vendor Criticality: Highly Critical

On average, these systems are expose private equity firms to the most risk. Most PE firms will have an online portal set up for their LPs / investors to access important information and get notifications.

Vendor Criticality: Highly Critical

On average, these systems are expose private equity firms to the most risk. Most PE firms lean heavily on data from subscription databases. Sites like CapIQ and Pitchbook provide data on financial transactions, which helps the firms establish comps and get a sense for movement in the market.

Vendor Criticality: Highly Critical

On average, these systems are expose private equity firms to the most risk. Most PE firms also use a system to keep track of the opportunities for investment that they’re evaluating. Common solutions include a custom Excel sheet or a traditional CRM like Salesforce. But there’s a new class of tracking software popping up that intelligently customizes data and workflows just for PE.

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS

Guidance Overview

Promoting a security-minded culture within your organization starts at the top and should funnel through each level of the business. Leaders should be educating their personnel and players ‘why’ everyone doing their part matters to the protection of your ball club. Regular cyber training and education should be performed through video conferences/in person, to increase transparency, and open the door for questions.

Guidance Overview

Start a conversation with these vendors on how they address and respond to system outages. Document and socialize a process that incorporates how internal team members will act in the event of a critical outage, to minimize damage to revenue and reputation.

Guidance Overview

Include wearables in player-issued equipment any lost wearables are reported to either the managing third-party vendor (i.e. Whoop Straps, and similar vendor activity trackers) and any internal security team leads. For larger connected devices (wayfinding boards, game tickers, electronic umpire, and pitch signaling devices), ensure that these devices operate on a secure and separated part of the network. This guidance aligns with industry best practice to reduce risk.

Guidance Overview

Verify that your digital infrastructure is configured to deny/restrict excessive requests to access/visit public-facing organizational websites and web pages. Typically, this is offered by default on your web hosting provider, under ‘DDOS Coverages’. It’s important to know however what coverages are in place and what protections they typically provide against these types of attacks.

Valorr Visibility In Professional Sports

Visibility Into Your Most Challenging Digital Risks

Risk Insight

The attacker sends an email link directing a user to a fake login page. Upon entering the user’s login and password, the attacker is able to steal this information and use it for unauthorized access to their account. Many times, attackers use credentials for a compromised account towards attempting to gain access to other account. This is typically successful due to many users, reusing passwords across websites and digital accounts. Check out our latest guidance and insights on this evolving risk.

Risk Insight

Resulting from either a natural disaster, utility failure, or combination of that may result in a vendor’s inability to provide critical services to your team. For example, the primary ticketing system goes down, an hour before gametime. Because this system operates as a single ‘source of truth’ for the available tickets left, lines are fans are left waiting at the gate. Fans being forced to wait leads to fans leaving the ballpark. This example, well not relevant to every sized organization, demonstrates both the short and potentially greater-term impacts of vendor access. Check out our latest guidance and insights on this evolving risk.

Risk Insight

An attacker either physically obtains a player electronic wearable or digitally accesses a player analytic database. Having access to this information can lead not only to negative reputational damage and financial impact but can affect the competitive team/player advantage if intellectual property were to fall in the wrong hands. Data theft can occur through many forms such social engineering, phishing, or applying internal or vendor system vulnerabilities to gain access. Check out our latest guidance and insights on this evolving risk.

Risk Insight

Attackers use a group of compromised computers known as a ‘botnet’ to flood a website with requests to access its contents. If appropriate protections aren’t in place this results in a complete website crash or inability to access specific webpages. Check out our latest guidance and insights on this evolving risk.
1
The future of NFTs isn’t just digital
2
The digital athlete and how it’s revolutionizing player health and safety
3
Digital executives: feeling overwhelmed by the pace and volume of new technology? you’re not alone
4
Ump Cam, designed by RF wireless systems, debuts during MLB all-star game
5
How wearable tech is transforming a couch’s decision-making

Vendor Criticality: Highly Critical

On average, these systems are expose professional sports organizations to the most risk. No other tools exposes organizations to as much opportunity risk as productivity tools such as Microsoft 365, Google Suite and others. PE firms heavily utilize spreadsheets (Excel / Google Sheets), presentations (Powerpoint / Slides), and documents (Word / Docs). Much of the analysis and presentation of information happens in these ubiquitous applications.

Vendor Criticality: Highly Critical

On average, these systems are expose professional sports organizations to the most risk. As with all companies, professional sports organizations use software to track their finances and accounting. Because their finances are very tied with player value, teams and firms will often use a packaged solution that combines player management and reporting within its own finance/accounting.

Vendor Criticality: Highly Critical

On average, these systems are expose professional sports organizations to the most risk. Most professional sports organizations will have an online media reations portal set up for their leadership and marketing teams to access important information and get notifications. These systems are prime targets for cyber actors due to their high visibility.

Vendor Criticality: Highly Critical

On average, these systems are expose professional sports organizations to the most risk. Most professional sports organizations lean heavily on payment card processing providers such as stripe or square. These vendors have both requirements and risks that need to be incorporated into your cybersecurity strategy.

Vendor Criticality: Highly Critical

On average, these systems are expose professional sports organizations to the most risk. Most professional sports organizations also utilize vendors such as athlete.io or other metaverse providers to enhance the sporting experience. These vendors introduce new digital risks to your environment that should be acknowledged and addressed.

Guidance Overview

Promoting a security-minded culture within your organization starts at the top and should funnel through each level of the business. Leaders should be educating their personnel and players ‘why’ everyone doing their part matters to the protection of your ball club. Regular cyber training and education should be performed through video conferences/in person, to increase transparency, and open the door for questions.

Guidance Overview

Start a conversation with these vendors on how they address and respond to system outages. Document and socialize a process that incorporates how internal team members will act in the event of a critical outage, to minimize damage to revenue and reputation.

Guidance Overview

Include wearables in player-issued equipment any lost wearables are reported to either the managing third-party vendor (i.e. Whoop Straps, and similar vendor activity trackers) and any internal security team leads. For larger connected devices (wayfinding boards, game tickers, electronic umpire, and pitch signaling devices), ensure that these devices operate on a secure and separated part of the network. This guidance aligns with industry best practice to reduce risk.

Guidance Overview

Verify that your digital infrastructure is configured to deny/restrict excessive requests to access/visit public-facing organizational websites and web pages. Typically, this is offered by default on your web hosting provider, under ‘DDOS Coverages’. It’s important to know however what coverages are in place and what protections they typically provide against these types of attacks.

Solving Your Biggest Challenges

We understand the complex operational, real-time uptime demands, and IT risks inherent to the professional sports industry and deliver a suite of services to help you tackle your toughest risk management challenges.

Incident Readiness

Readiness is your most valuable capability when it comes to cyber operations. Our team will test your plans, people, and insurance coverage to ensure complete and coordinated incident readiness across the entire business. 

Learn More

1Plan Review

2Exercise & Recommendations

3Debrief & Lessons Learned

Valorr success story

Delivering A Secure, Competitive Advantage To The Professional Baseball Front Office

Valorr led the secure implementation of an advanced, converged security program for a Professional Baseball Team. The Florida-based team has more than 1,000 users across 5 countries.

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11

WEEK TIMELINE

Valorr completed this assessment in just under 3 months.

35

APPLICATIONS

The scope for this global implementation.

Different from the Rest

At Valorr, we take a different approach to managing business and cyber risk.

Sports Ops Expertise

Valorr is led by a former professional athlete and has worked with some of the most recognized teams in professional sports, including those in Major League Baseball and other independent league organizations.

Innovative Services

Valorr's experts specialize in understanding emerging threats, new attack vectors, and innovative solutions to help you build smarter, better cyber defenses.


Tailored to Executives

Valorr specializes in working directly with executive teams to identify strategic priorities and ensure threats to those priorities are mitigated in a time sensitive and cost-effective manner.

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