Passport Breach Hits Over 500 Cricket Stars, From Wasim Akram To Ian Bell

A few of cricket’s all-time greats and present superstars have had their passport data uncovered, after a cybersecurity researcher mentioned he discovered a batch of avid gamers’ non-public information on-line.

Pakistan and West Indies legends Wasim Akram and Chris Gayle have been among greater than 500 well-known cricketers’ suffering from the breach, as have been present stars like big-scoring England batsman Ian Bell and Pakistan captain Mohammad Babar Azam. Indian, New Zealand and Afghan avid gamers have been additionally affected, in step with Etizaz Mohsin, a U.Ok.-based researcher, who shared his findings with Forbes. Most of the passports have been nonetheless legitimate on the time of e-newsletter, whilst some have been not too long ago expired. Telephone numbers and electronic mail addresses of a few avid gamers and their brokers have been additionally within the information found out by way of Mohsin.

Forbes was once in a position to validate the veracity of the knowledge discovered by way of Mohsin, after representatives for England world Eoin Morgan and Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan showed the passport pictures for the 2 avid gamers have been respectable. Control for England stars Ian Bell and Henry Brookes additionally showed their passport main points have been proper. And 3 group managers showed their touch main points have been correct.

The information seems to narrate to groups interested by each the Pakistan Tremendous League and the Abu Dhabi T10 competitions. Incessantly, cricketers have to supply passport and different non-public information to match organizers to be able to be registered to play and get get right of entry to to the grounds.

The starting place of the breach is being contested, alternatively. Mohsin claimed to have discovered the knowledge on an “accreditation” web page hosted by way of Q-Tickets, a ticketing and occasions corporate founded within the Center East, which partnered with the Pakistan and Abu Dhabi tournaments. Mohsin mentioned he was once in a position to temporarily bet the password that allowed get right of entry to to the web page.

After being alerted by way of each Mohsin and Forbes, Q-Tickets took down the web page, however later claimed it had performed an interior investigation and denied it had ever hosted any passport information at the web page, or that Mohsin had even accessed the web page. “We’re in excessive denial that any so-called cybersecurity researcher accessed our server,” mentioned Bhaskar Bhatt, senior vp for Q-Tickets. ”If there was once any data at the server, it will had been the participant’s accreditations slightly than their passport main points.” He didn’t reply to questions on what information was once at the server or what data would fall below “accreditations.”

Forbes spoke with one cricket skilled, who requested to stay nameless, who mentioned he had uploaded passport information for his group closing yr to the Q-Tickets accreditation web page. He did so on behalf of a whole group, pronouncing they have been because of play on the Abu Dhabi T10 match. Then again, any other cricket skilled, who additionally requested to stay nameless, mentioned they’d equipped accreditation information immediately to an Abu Dhabi league consultant, now not Q-Tickets.

Shahbaz Ali, a spokesperson for the Abu Dhabi league, mentioned it “takes all issues similar to non-public data very severely” and that it was once sporting out an “interior inquiry” to resolve if there was once any breach of its information.

The information stays actual, without reference to its provenance. Any leak of passport data may just put well-known, rich cricketers at larger chance of identification robbery, famous Mohsin. “Celebrities must give protection to their data by way of tracking their monetary statements, being wary with who they percentage data with, and the use of identification robbery coverage services and products,” he added.

Breaches of famous person passports are uncommon. In 2016, the U.S. mentioned it was once investigating a possible leak of Michelle Obama’s passport symbol. The Sony Photos hack of 2014 additionally noticed forged and workforce passports printed on-line. The corporate was once later sued by way of group of workers disillusioned on the leak in their information and settled for $8 million.