The FIFA World Cup 2026 opened on June 11. By that date, according to Check Point Research, the fraud infrastructure targeting it had already been built, staged, and partially deployed. Threat actor activity was pre-planned, months out, across three sectors and at least ten languages.
Check Point Exposure Management published the FIFA World Cup 2026 Cyber Threat Report this month, covering financial services, transportation, hospitality, and gambling. Here are three findings worth reading carefully.
1 in 3 FIFA Partners Can’t Block Email Impersonation
Pre-tournament research by Proofpoint found that more than one-third of official FIFA World Cup 2026 partners lack sufficient DMARC enforcement to prevent domain spoofing. That means attackers can send an email that appears to come from a sponsor, a vendor, or a logistics partner, with no technical barrier stopping it.
The World Cup supply chain is enormous. Airlines, hotels, broadcast partners, merchandise contractors, and catering companies. Every procurement email traveling that chain is a potential interception point. High transaction volumes, tight deadlines, and…
