Cyber Hack Update: Data leak concerning 26 athletes from 10 countries and 12 sports

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirms that, again today, the cyber hacker Group “Fancy Bear” released a batch of confidential athlete data on their website, which they illegally obtained from a Rio 2016 Olympic Games account of WADA’s Anti-Doping Administration and Management System (ADAMS). 

This time, the group released data concerning 26 athletes from 10 countries, including: 2 from Argentina; 1 from Belgium, 1 from Burundi, 4 from Canada, 2 from Denmark, 2 from France, 8 from the United Kingdom, 1 from Hungary, 1 from Spain and 4 from the United States.

The athletes are from the sports of Field Hockey, Athletics, Soccer, Handball, Cycling, Fencing, Rowing, Golf, Swimming, Tennis, Archery and Gymnastics.

WADA is taking this situation concerning athlete privacy very seriously. The incident response team that we have assembled is actively working with law enforcement agencies in Canada and elsewhere, and acting on the intelligence obtained through our investigations to prevent any further intrusions. We are also consulting with leading cyber security experts to ensure that no further information is accessed from the broader ADAMS.

The group obtained access to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games account through spear phishing of ADAMS users’ email accounts through which hackers obtained ADAMS passwords. We still have no reason to believe that they have accessed the broader ADAMS system.

The Agency is in contact with the relevant NADOs and IFs whose athletes are impacted by this latest data release so that they can provide them with the necessary support.  

Should athletes, or other ADAMS users, have any questions or concerns; or, have encountered suspicious activity in relation to ADAMS such as phishing emails, they are encouraged to contact the helpdesk at adams@wada-ama.org or on +1 514 904 8800.

Please note that WADA is committed to providing updates as circumstances evolve.