There are a lot of runners now wondering if they’ve been affected by a possible security breach surrounding Active Networks – these are the people who handle race sign ups and organisation for many UK events including Run Norwich.

Help spread the word to other runners about the Active Networks data security breach

If you’ve not caught up with the story yet it affects the organisation which manages race entries for many running events and a potential security breach which has seen some people targeted by fraudsters.

Take a look at how the credit card breach story has been covered in Runner’s World and also the BBC report into the Active Networks breach. Locally the EDP have posted on their Run Anglia group that they are going to be looking into it, and there are comments there from people locally who have had problems which seem to relate attempted fraudulent credit card purchases, though luckily these got picked up by their banks.

There is now a Facebook Group called Boycott Active and the threads are well worth a read and also they are keen for as many of us as possible

Active Networks says the period affected is between December 2016 and September 2017

And the galling thing from the Runner’s World story is that people have had to use data protection laws in the form of ‘subject access requests’ to find out if they have been hit.

All of that is likely to change when new rules, known as GDPR come into play which state that where any breaches occur affected parties must be told within 72 hours or face potentially heavy fines. So it will be interesting to know what the Information Commissioner’s Office will make of all of this.

But that is of little comfort now, and you can see from the comments that some runners are rightly fed up that no information has been forthcoming.

So how will that affect anyone taking part in events locally?

Locally the EDP have posted on their Run Anglia group today that they are going to be looking into it, and there are comments there from people locally who have had problems which seem to relate attempted fraudulent credit card purchases, though luckily these got picked up by their banks. And you can contact reporter Kim Briscoe if you have a story to tell – see Kim.briscoe@archant.co.uk or call 01603 772324

We know from the official Run Norwich website that Active Networks is the registration provider for this year’s event, and in a post on their site on January 18 they said:

 

“Fortunately, our registration providers ACTIVE Network have made lots of improvements to the entry form this year, which should make your entry into the race the smoothest yet” – Run Norwich post January 18

Even if you haven’t heard from Active Networks you may still be at risk says Boycott Active Facebook Group

What we don’t yet know however is whether there are any issues with previous years.

Active Networks also handles the registrations for a host of other local events too and after a post on the Runnorfolk Facebook page highlighting the Active Networks breach, one runner also said they had had an issue after signing up to an event at Snetterton, but organisers at Inspire Races said they weren’t aware of any problems.

Hopefully at some point we can expect to receive a communication from event organisers telling us what’s been going on and putting our minds at rest, and if like me you’ve been a Run Norwich competitor event, then you might want to check your emails and go back through your bank statements and see if you have received any information about a breach affecting you.