UK anti-doping agency hit by cyberattack

Britain’s national anti-doping organization revealed Monday that it was recently hit by a cyberattack but said hackers did not compromise any data.

The U.K. Anti-Doping Agency (UKAD), which holds sensitive information on athletes’ drug tests and medical records, said it became aware of the incident over the weekend. 

{mosads}The organization indicated that the attack was not successful, saying that no data was lost or compromised and no “core activity” affected.

“We can confirm that no data has been lost or compromised. We took the necessary steps to investigate and resolve the situation,” UKAD said on Twitter. “No core activity, including our testing programme, has been impacted.”

The revelation comes in the wake of renewed signs of Russian hackers targeting Olympic organizations, following the International Olympic Committee’s decision to bar Moscow from participating in last month’s Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, over allegations of state-sponsored doping.

In 2016, the World Anti-Doping Agency blamed Russian hackers for stealing confidential medical data on U.S. Olympic athletes and later publishing it online. The hack was linked to Fancy Bear, a hacking group believed to be associated with the Russian government.

UKAD did not link the activity to Russia in its brief statement on Monday, though The Guardian reported that some suspect Moscow in the cyberattack.

The organization expressed confidence in its security practices but said “we continually review our systems and measures to ensure they are of a very high standard.”