CyberCX expands Collingwood cyber deal into major partnership

CyberCX has expanded its partnership with Collingwood Football Club, becoming a major partner as well as the club's Official Cyber Security Partner and Official App Partner.

Under the deal, CyberCX branding will appear on the interchange bench during Collingwood home and away matches at the Melbourne Cricket Ground and Marvel Stadium. The expanded commercial relationship follows two years of work between the cyber security firm and the AFL club on digital security measures.

That work has included round-the-clock monitoring of Collingwood's environment through Security Operations Centre services, penetration testing across internal and external networks, and cyber security awareness activity across the organisation.

The announcement adds to CyberCX's growing presence in Australian sport, where cyber security has become a more visible operational issue for clubs, leagues and governing bodies managing member data, ticketing systems, apps and internal communications. Sporting organisations are also facing greater scrutiny over their preparedness for extortion attempts, data theft and disruption to digital services.

CyberCX chief executive officer John Paitaridis linked the Collingwood partnership to a broader deterioration in the threat landscape.

"At CyberCX we see firsthand how the global threat environment is deteriorating. Our CyberCX 2026 Threat Report revealed that cyber extortion is now the number one type of cyber incident confronting organisations, while financially motivated attacks are taking longer to detect. This impacts sporting clubs and codes, who face an increasingly hazardous range of cyber threats.

CyberCX is a mission-driven organisation dedicated to securing our communities, and nothing brings our communities together like sports. The Collingwood Football Club is a leading organisation in Australia's sporting landscape. We're proud of the work we have delivered for the Club over the past two years and look forward to strengthening our partnership into the future," Paitaridis said.

Collingwood said the relationship forms part of its broader approach to protecting information held by the club, extending beyond internal systems to the data and digital interactions connected to players, staff, members and supporters.

"We're thrilled to extend our partnership with CyberCX. Their expertise and commitment have been invaluable in strengthening the Club's cyber defence," said Craig Kelly, chief executive officer of Collingwood.

"Working with Australia's leading cyber security organisation gives us confidence that our information is protected. In today's digital world, safeguarding data isn't just about the Club, it's about protecting our players, staff, members and supporters from digital threats.

This partnership ensures we keep everyone connected to Collingwood safe online."

Sector Focus

The Collingwood agreement comes as CyberCX broadens its work across elite sport in Australia. The company recently struck a strategic partnership with the AFL, becoming the league's Official Cyber Security Partner for the AFL and AFLW, as well as naming partner of the AFL Review Centre.

Under that arrangement, AFL clubs will be offered a cyber assessment programme aimed at improving security maturity at club level. The move suggests a more coordinated push to lift digital safeguards across a sector where clubs vary widely in size, resources and technical readiness.

CyberCX has also worked with other major sporting bodies, serving as the official cyber partner to the Australian Open for four consecutive years and as the official cyber security partner to the Wallabies and Wallaroos.

Its work with Rugby Australia has included cyber incident simulation exercises, organisation risk assessments, penetration testing and changes to cyber security controls. Together, those deals show how cyber firms are seeking longer-term roles in sport that go beyond sponsorship signage and into core operational systems.

For clubs, the commercial and practical sides of such partnerships increasingly overlap. A sponsor may also be a supplier of essential services, particularly in areas such as cyber security, where boards are under pressure to reduce operational risk while maintaining digital services for fans and members.

CyberCX is part of Accenture and has a workforce of 1,400 cyber security professionals across Australia and New Zealand. Its regional footprint and recent run of sports partnerships indicate that major sporting bodies are becoming a meaningful customer group for specialist security providers as threats become more frequent and harder to detect.