Moonshot, one of the fastest growing companies in the national security space, and CTH Advisors, an investment banking and advisory firm specializing in sports, media and entertainment, have announced a strategic partnership to combat the rising digital threats in the sports industry.
Moonshot has secured over $20 million in U.S. government contracts to protect schools, national infrastructure, and public figures from terrorism. This initiative will leverage that technology to deliver best-in-class national security solutions to elite athletes, officials, and sports organizations.
Moonshot’s technology is already being used by major sports institutions, including the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Moonshot is responsible for protecting all Team USA athletes from online threats on behalf of USOPC.
As digital threats become more sophisticated, from AI-generated deepfakes to coordinated doxxing, the sports industry is increasingly vulnerable to both reputational and physical harm. One in five players at major international sporting events, such as the Women’s World Cup, experience significant online abuse. Female athletes face disproportionate volumes of online threats, much like the national security space where Moonshot has found that 92% of women in public life experience abuse online.
This is not just about protecting the mental health and wellbeing of athletes. What happens online doesn’t stay online. This is even more pronounced in cases of stalking and fixated persons, where offline action is more likely to take place. Major events and venues are also increasingly targeted by terrorists—this summer, Taylor Swift canceled her Vienna concerts due to terrorist threats.
Moonshot’s origins in the national security sector make them uniquely primed to protect the sports industry from a wide array of threats. Moonshot have developed a unique AI model, specially trained in advanced detection and threat assessment across several harm types: threats to life, terrorism, stalking and fixated persons, intimate image abuse, AI-generated deepfakes, conspiracy theories, and abuse.
They also take action. They offer an end-to-end service—the same service deployed by the U.S. government to disrupt terror attacks—which will be deployed to proactively mitigate threats to the sports industry. Already in 2024, Moonshot has:
- Taken action on over 200 cases of intimate image abuse against athletes, including deepfake pornography.
- Escalated over 20 threats to life against athletes directly to law enforcement.
- Removed impersonator accounts for commissioners, athletes, and agents, within 24 hours, by leveraging their unique partnerships with major platforms.
- Achieved a platform removal rate for abuse content 5x higher than average.
- Worked with law enforcement to disrupt one terrorist plot.
This critical initiative will address the growing dangers the sports industry faces from online threats and misinformation, and their impact on sport integrity and athlete mental health.
“Athletes and officials deserve the best-in-class technology to ensure their safety. We deploy the same technology to protect elite athletes as we do to protect the nation on behalf of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,” said Vidhya Ramalingam, CEO of Moonshot. “Through our partnership with CTH Advisors we are bringing these critical tools into the sporting world, just in time—as the online threat environment becomes even more complex.”
Moonshot will provide the sports industry with:
- Threat Monitoring: Utilizing Moonshot’s proven technologies to monitor online abuse, criminal activity, and threats of offline violence across a wide range of digital platforms.
- Threat Mitigation: Developing a holistic strategy to address and proactively mitigate those threats online. As part of that strategy, Moonshot will take action through its unique partnerships with social media platforms.
- Digital Security Training: Equipping athletes, teams, and sports executives with the knowledge and tools to minimize their exposure to digital threats through comprehensive digital security training.
“Like many others, we are dismayed by the constant news of cyberbullying, doxxing, and other threats against organizations and athletes. CTH Advisors is thrilled to work alongside Moonshot on this critical initiative,” said Andy Brusman, CEO of CTH Advisors. “Together, we aim to provide the sports industry with a comprehensive framework to tackle the digital challenges of today, ensuring a safer and more resilient environment for athletes and fans alike.”
This collaboration will help sports organizations, leagues, and clubs better navigate the rapidly changing digital landscape while maintaining a strong focus on safeguarding their most important assets—their athletes. With Moonshot’s expertise in protecting high-profile events such as the Paris 2024 Summer Games and organizations like the SEC, along with CTH Advisors’ extensive experience advising leading sports businesses, this partnership is set to redefine how the sports industry approaches security and growth.
