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In March 2023, the NBA began notifying people that an unauthorized party had obtained names and email addresses held by an outside provider used for newsletter communications. The NBA notice, as quoted in contemporaneous reporting, said there was no indication that NBA systems, usernames, passwords, or other information shared with the league were affected. The provider and the number of people affected were not disclosed.
Was the NBA hacked?
SecurityWeek reported on March 20, 2023, that the NBA had started sending notification emails the previous week. The incident involved a third-party newsletter provider, not a confirmed breach of the NBA’s own systems. The reporting did not identify the provider or describe how the unauthorized party gained access. SecurityWeek’s March 20, 2023 report is the contemporaneous account of the notices.
The NBA notice was quoted as saying: “There is no indication that our systems, your username, password, or any other information you have shared with us have been impacted.” That wording describes what the notice said was not indicated as affected; it is not proof that every possible account or system was independently examined or that no other information was exposed.
What information was reportedly exposed?
The information reported as obtained was names and email addresses held by the outside provider for newsletter communications. The notice warned that those details could be used in phishing or social-engineering attempts, including messages made to look as though they came from the NBA or a partner entity.
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The notice reproduced by SecurityWeek said: “Please note, we will never ask you to send us personal account information, such as username, by email and we will never ask you to give us your password under no circumstances.” This is the notice’s wording as quoted in the report, not a quotation independently verified here against the original email. SecurityWeek also reported the warning about suspicious correspondence.
What is known—and what remains undisclosed?
| Question | What the reporting establishes |
|---|---|
| What data was reportedly obtained? | Names and email addresses held by a third-party newsletter provider. (SecurityWeek, March 20, 2023) |
| Were NBA systems or passwords reported affected? | The NBA notice said there was no indication that NBA systems, usernames, passwords, or other information shared with the league had been impacted. (SecurityWeek, March 20, 2023) |
| Which provider was involved? | Not disclosed in the reporting. A separate Mailchimp incident was mentioned, but SecurityWeek said a connection was unclear; it does not establish that Mailchimp was the NBA’s provider. (SecurityWeek, March 20, 2023) |
| How many people were affected? | Not disclosed. (SecurityWeek, March 20, 2023; EnterProtect retrospective summary) |
| When did the underlying breach happen, and how? | The cited reports do not establish the breach date, attack method, or investigation outcome. (EnterProtect retrospective summary) |
EnterProtect’s retrospective summary also describes the incident as involving a third-party email provider, but does not supply the missing scale or attack details.
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What should recipients do with an old or similar message?
The March 2023 notice is a historical alert, not a current warning that the NBA is experiencing a new breach. If you received a notice or encounter a message claiming to be from the NBA, assess the message rather than assuming it is genuine because it uses your name or email address.
- Do not reply with a password or send account details by email. The notice specifically cautioned against requests for personal account information.
- Be wary of unexpected links, attachments, urgent requests, or messages claiming to come from the NBA or a partner. A name and email address can make an impersonation more convincing.
- If a message asks you to sign in, navigate to the NBA service independently instead of using the message’s link.
What does the incident say about breach-notification rules?
It does not establish a specific legal finding about the NBA. The Federal Trade Commission’s general business guide says state breach-notification laws typically govern what a notice must or must not contain, and recommends notifying individuals after a business experiences a data breach. Those general points do not show which states were implicated in this incident, whether a particular statutory threshold applied, or what legal analysis the NBA performed. See the FTC’s Data Breach Response: A Guide for Business.
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