Sports clubs’ funding system taken offline amid cyber security concerns, but no breach found

The Oscar portal has been taken offline following a cyber risk assessment, with clubs able to submit requests by email

Organisations already registered on the now offline Oscar portal will be automatically migrated to the new system. Stock picture: Adobe

External access to the system used by clubs and organisations to apply for sports funding has been taken offline.

The Department of Culture, Communications and Sport confirmed the move, but said that it was not because of a cyberattack.

A department spokesperson said that when suspicious internet traffic targeting one of the National Archives’s public-facing websites was detected in July, a review was taken of the Oscar website for sports funding along with other legacy websites.

They said that while there was no evidence of unauthorised access and no indications of compromise, the decision was taken to restrict external access to the sites.

It is “currently in the process of being ported over to the new National Archives web platform and will be available in due course”.

The spokesperson said that following a cyber risk assessment conducted on July 16, the external Oscar portal was taken offline to “reduce the potential surface of attack available to a bad actor or cybercriminal”.

“It was not as a result of a cyberattack, breach or compromise,” the spokesperson said.

“A modern, secure and user-friendly replacement system will be open for registrations as soon as possible,” the spokesperson added.

In the interim, organisations can continue to submit formal approval and payment requests via email, the department said.

The Oscar system and the Sports Capital Grant will soon be replaced by the Community Sport Facilities Fund (CSFF), which the department said will open for registrations “as soon as possible”.

Further information on the new portal, the overall timelines for the round, and guidance for users will be published on the Department’s website.

Clubs registered with Oscar are automatically migrated to new system

“Organisations that are already registered on Oscar will be automatically migrated to the new system.

“In line with previous rounds of the programme, applicants can be assured that sufficient time will be allowed in which to prepare and submit their applications.”

At an Oireachtas media committee meeting in May, sports minister Patrick O’Donovan said the new CSFF scheme was to be signed off “imminently”.

However, committee chair Alan Kelly said the scheme “is not signed off and is nowhere near signed off”.

Mr O’Donovan said he wanted to ensure that the new grant scheme is better than the existing system.

• Paul Hosford, Deputy Political Editor