Varsity Brands, the parent of BSN Sports and Varsity Spirit, disclosed that more than 65,000 individuals may have had their personal information stolen due to a data breach that occurred earlier this year.
Varsity Brands informed the Maine Attorney General’s Office this week that it detected “unusual activity” on its systems in May 2024, and immediately shut down affected systems.
“Upon detection, we promptly took steps to stop the activity and took certain systems offline. An investigation was launched with assistance from external cybersecurity experts. We also notified law enforcement,” Varsity Brands said in a letter sent to impacted individuals.
Varsity Brands told the Maine AG’s Office that over 65,000 individuals have been impacted and they have been offered free credit monitoring and identity theft protection services for 24 months.
The investigation showed that the hackers obtained “a small subset of company files” that stored personal information. The letter indicated that “names or other personal identifiers” were exposed.
The company told Cybernews that its investigation revealed attackers accessed files which potentially contained names, social security numbers, dates of birth, financial account information and employee IDs.
“We have now notified those individuals whose data was impacted and provided resources to them so that they may take steps to protect themselves,” Varsity Brands told Cybernews.
The May breach may have been the impetus for VB to bring in a new chief security officer. In July, the company appointed veteran law enforcement official and security expert Lisa Olivieri as its first chief security officer (CSO). Olivieri was expected to proactively manage Varsity Brands’ integrated security and safety efforts across the company, its events, competitions, offices, and facilities. She reports to Varsity Brands’ General Counsel and Chief Legal Officer, Burton Brillhart.
Olivieri joined Varsity Brands from online home goods and furniture retailer Wayfair, where she served as global head of safety and security since 2021.
Varsity Brands, headquartered in Farmers Branch, TX, employs approximately 9,000 across its Varsity Spirits and BSN Sports. In August 2024, the company was sold for $4.75 billion by Bain to KKR & Co. Inc.
Image courtesy BSN Sports/Varsity Brands
