Cyber Safety in Sport: Cyber Security Awareness Month 2024
When we think about sport, cyber safety isn’t a naturally accompanying thought, but with the growing threat of global cyber security risks, it should be.
It was with this in mind that Sport Integrity Australia launched the Cyber Safety and Security for Sports course in 2023.
Developed in partnership with the eSafety Commissioner and the Australian Cyber Security Centre, this free award-winning eLearning course aims to provide practical tools for sports to protect themselves from ever evolving cyber risks.
Cyber threats to sports can mean:
- Loss of organisational data
- Disclosure of personal details or information
- Financial fraud
- Online abuse
- Child safeguarding risks
- Reputational damage
Unsecure data can also lead to heightened risks of criminal activity such as competition manipulation.
Unfortunately, a consistent cyber threat in sport is the online abuse of athletes, a majority of those being women and girls.
Acting Head of Sport Engagement, Alexis Cooper, said that since its launch, the course has been completed by over 870 sport administrators across the country.
“The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive - 92% of respondents said they would take action to improve the security of their accounts and devices after doing the course, and 96% said they felt confident they could respond to online abuse in sport,” Ms Cooper said.
“While there are many cyber security threats, there are just as many ways to protect ourselves against them, one of which is the Cyber Safety and Security for Sports course.
“For Cyber Security Awareness Month in October, Sport Integrity Australia is encouraging sports to assess their own cyber risks and consider completing the course.”
The course, which takes approximately 45 minutes to complete, will help users to:
- Identify the cyber security risks facing their organisation, and the impact of getting it wrong.
- Identify what to do if they are hacked.
- Protect their accounts and devices.
- Understand what to do if someone in their sport experiences online abuse.
To access the course or to share it with a local club click here.
