Argentina has reached the semi-finals and now faces what is expected to be their most challenging opponent of the tournament so far—the England team.
Event Context
Prior to Argentina’s quarter-final match against Switzerland, which they ultimately won, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) fell victim to a cyberattack. Reports have surfaced suggesting that Egypt may have been behind this incident, although this has not been officially confirmed.
On Friday, the Argentine newspaper Diario Popular disclosed that emails were sent from an official AFA account to journalists, misleadingly asserting that Argentina’s advancement to the FIFA World Cup quarter-finals was due to biased officiating instead of their actual performance on the field.
One of the deceptive emails reportedly stated, “Argentina did not win. The victory was stolen through corrupt refereeing decisions.”
Additionally, it is believed that the hackers gained unauthorized access to the AFA Medios database, which is responsible for media accreditation and official communications.
Officials have not yet pinpointed the individuals responsible for the suspected cyberattack, and investigators are continuing to explore the extent of the breach.
Match Outlook
An Egyptian hacking group has reportedly taken responsibility for the attack on online forums. However, Ht.com has been unable to independently verify this claim.
AFA issues official statement
Following La Albiceleste’s thrilling comeback against Egypt in the Round of 16, controversy has emerged surrounding refereeing choices and perceived bias towards Argentina. Reports from Argentine news outlet La Calle suggest that a cyberattack may have originated from Egypt, targeting the Argentina Football Association’s (AFA) media database.
The outlet, referencing AFA sources, indicated that a suspected group of Egyptian hackers gained unauthorized access to the AFA’s systems after the two nations’ match. Once inside, the intruders allegedly misappropriated the federation’s communication tools.
The reported breach potentially revealed sensitive data, including email addresses, IP addresses, and passwords belonging to journalists and football officials.
The AFA has acknowledged investigating the prospect of unauthorized access and is taking measures to bolster its cybersecurity defenses.
In their official statement, the federation noted, “We wish to inform you that some emails have been sent from one of our institutional accounts, which were not approved or validated by our personnel,” advising journalists to ignore any suspicious messages or links received from their accounts.
