No harm done despite cyber attack on UK Anti-Doping

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UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) reassured athletes on Monday that no personal data had been stolen after it was subject to a hacking attack over the weekend. Suspicion for the attack is likely to fall on Russia-based Fancy Bears after their successful hacking previously of a number of sports bodies, including the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF).

It was due to their hacking that the use of therapeutic use exemptions (TUEs) by British cycling great Bradley Wiggins came to light. The five-time Olympic champion was administered the corticosteroid triamcinolone before his three biggest road races in 2011, 2012 and 2013, including his 2012 Tour de France victory. A TUE is a dispensation, approved by doctors and the world governing body, to take an otherwise banned drug for medical reasons.

"Over the weekend UK Anti-Doping was made aware of a cyber attack affecting our systems. We can confirm that no data has been lost or compromised," said a UKAD spokesman in a statement released to Press Association Sport. "We took the necessary steps to investigate and resolve the situation. No core activity, including our testing programme, has been impacted. "We are satisfied that we have appropriate levels of cyber security in place, and we continually review our systems and measures to ensure they are of a very high standard."

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