HACKERS HOLDING UNITED TO RANSOM

++ Cyber-criminals demand millions after crippling club’s IT network ++ United must pay up or risk sensitive details about stars being leaked

MANCHESTER UNITED are being held to ransom for millions of pounds by cyber-criminals who have crippled the club’s systems, Sportsmail can reveal.

United have brought in a team of technical experts to contain the potentially disastrous attack that was launched more than a week ago.

But it’s understood the hackers still have United in their grip after the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre last night confirmed they are helping the club to resolve the crisis.

They said: ‘The NCSC is aware of an incident affecting Manchester United Football Club and we are working with the organisation and partners to understand the impact.’

The embarrassing lapse in security at one of the world’s biggest sports clubs is believed to be far more serious than first feared.

United’s network has been infected by ransomware — a computer virus — and

they now face the option of having to pay up or risk seeing highly sensitive information about the club and its stars leaked into the public domain.

It is unclear who the criminals are or how much they want, but the UK’s NCSC revealed that in the last year an EFL club were hit with a £5million demand and the biggest single loss to a sports organisation from cyber-crime was £4m.

United could also face fines of £9m, £18m or two per cent of their annual worldwide turnover if the attack is found to have breached their fans’ data protection — although the club last night reassured supporters that is not the case.

United also insist the attack will not affect match- day operations. The next home game is against Paris Saint- Germain in the Champions League on Wednesday.

A United statement last night read: ‘Following the cyber-attack on the club, our IT team and external experts secured our networks and have conducted forensic investigations.

‘This attack was by nature disruptive, but we are not currently aware of any fan data being compromised.

‘ Critical systems required f or matches to take place at Old Trafford remained secure and games have gone ahead.

‘The club will not be commenting on speculation regarding who may have been responsible for this attack or the motives behind it.’

The NCSC warned about the increased threat to the £37billion sports industry from cyber-criminals in July, including the more remote possibility of being targeted by nation states such as Russia.

When sensitive information from Manchester City’s company emails was leaked in 2018, it led to a £9m fine for breaking Financial Fair Play rules and a two-year Champions League ban t hat was later overturned.

Warning of the threat to sports clubs, the NCSC said: ‘The business impact of ransomware attacks can be disastrous.

‘Since 2018, ransomware attacks have been growing in impact. The criminals carrying out the attacks are taking more time to analyse victim networks and understand the “value” of the target.

‘Using network analysis and movement within the victim’s network, attackers try to ensure they have maximum impact on the victim organisation — potentially denying access to business-critical files and systems.