With the previous exposure of Russia’s involvement in hacking over the US presidential election and new fears Russia will be targeting the upcoming German election, England football players are being advised not to use public Wi-Fi for fear of more hacking attempts over the World Cup.

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The next World Cup is to be held in Russia and with so much sensitive information available such as injury notifications, squad selections and tactical decisions, it is not a good idea to use public Wi-Fi.

Leaked Information

Russian hackers have been involved in numerous high-profile cases over recent years, so it is no surprise the FA want to limit potential exposures while in the country. Last month a hacking attempt by Russian hackers revealed a discussion on banned medicines in football and leaked important data about which players had failed drugs tests.

FIFA is committed to protecting the information of football teams during the World Cup, however, the world of IT is so complex that the footballing body needs to connect with expert third parties to ensure safety. FIFA does not produce computer security advice as it is not in the position to do so.

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England needs to beat Slovenia in the qualifying game on October 5th in order to be assured of a place at the World Cup.

Manipulation of data

England officials are getting increasingly concerned about IT security in Russia after several high-profile leaks of highly sensitive information. It is believed that Russians tried to manipulate public opinion during the US election by leaking data and in a similar way, sensitive information leaked during the World Cup could give an unfair advantage to some teams over others.

Players are also being reminded to take care when using social media that they don’t leak important information. The players should stick to chatting about less important elements of the football preparations to preserve security of data. For example, the World Cup will see a range of new football kits released for the teams to play in and fans will be able to buy replica kits from stockists such as Kit King.

Football kit news is not something that is likely to be seen as important information for hackers to leak during the World Cup, but it may be one of the most interesting elements for many fans!