FIFA has acknowledged that its computer systems were hacked for a second time earlier this year.

And, although an investigation into the incident is ongoing, the world’s football governing body fears that sensitive data may have been accessed and stolen.

Second attack

The hack took place in March 2018 but it is not believed to be connected to a previous cyberattack, which the US Department of Justice and FBI claimed was carried out by a group linked to Russia’s intelligence agency in 2017. That incident led to the publication of a list of failed drug tests by professional footballers.

Documents allegedly obtained from the hack also led to German magazine Der Spiegel revealing the details of a nondisclosure agreement that Cristiano Ronaldo signed with an American woman who had accused the Portuguese footballer of sexual assault in 2009. Ronaldo has denied the allegation and has threatened to sue the publication.

It is not yet clear what data was accessed during this second breach, but a consortium of European media agencies are planning to publish a series of stories based in part on the internal FIFA documents as early as Friday, a New York Times report stated. The newspaper added that a group calling itself Football Leaks originally obtained the documents.

A FIFA spokesperson said: “In response to the increasing number of internet-enabled computer attacks, FIFA is continually modifying its systems and practices and allocates significant budgets for the continuous improvement of its information security posture.

“Following a hack in March 2018, FIFA took a number of measures to improve IT security, in order to protect employees. It’s an ongoing issue, which FIFA has to face just like countless organisations around the world who are all dealing with data security challenges.

FIFA said it was concerned by the fact that information has been obtained illegally, with the spokesperson adding: “FIFA condemns any attempts to compromise the confidentiality, integrity and availability of data in any organisation using unlawful practices.”