Tony Parker’s ASVEL allegedly breached, player data stolen

ASVEL Basket, a French basketball team owned by the former NBA star Tony Parker, has been claimed by a ransomware cartel. The attackers say that they’ve taken player data and confidential agreements.

ASVEL was posted on the NoEscape ransomware gang’s leak site, a dark web blog that threat actors use to showcase their latest victims.

The post alleges that attackers compromised the organization and took 32GB of data. Based in the Villeurbanne commune of Lyon, France, ASVEL is headed by the four-time NBA champion Tony Parker.

We’ve reached out to ASVEL for comment but did not receive a reply before publishing.

According to the attackers, a trove of sensitive data was accessed, including players’ passports and IDs, ASVEL’s financial and tax data, non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), player scouting contracts, and other confidential information.

ASVEL is among Europe’s most notable basketball teams, competing in the Euroleague, the continent’s strongest basketball tournament. The team’s roster includes players like Joffrey Lauvergne, Nando de Colo, David Lighty, Mike Scott, and others.

Researchers believe that NoEscape ransomware first emerged in May 2023. Like so many other ransomware cartels, it operates under the Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) model: malware developers sell ransomware to operators and take a cut of their gains.

According to Ransomlooker, Cybernews’ tool for monitoring the dark web, NoEscape has hit 54 organizations since its inception. Reportedly, the gang’s ransomware demands vary from several hundreds of thousands of dollars to $10 million.

It’s believed that NoEscape is the successor to the Avaddon ransomware cartel.