The Sportadmin data breach is no longer just a scandal, it’s a reckoning. With personal information from an estimated two million individuals leaked through their connection to 1 650 sports clubs, the incident has left a trail of reputational damage, legal scrutiny, and public distrust. While the immediate concern lies with victims, it’s about time companies elevate their data privacy due diligence practices.
The magnitude of the Sportadmin breach has sent shockwaves through Sweden’s tech and business sectors. The consequences are not unique to this case. In today’s interconnected data ecosystem, a single vulnerability can expose millions and create a ripple effect of legal, financial, and even ethical liabilities.
Effective due diligence is important when working (or acquiring) an organization that controls and/or processes significant amounts of personal data. It can no longer be treated as simple gap analysis, box-ticking checklist, exercise performed once a year or delegated to junior compliance staff.
In today’s business ecosystem, personal data privacy and data protection must become a living, breathing part of corporate governance and be integrated into vendor onboarding, system architecture, employee training, leadership oversight and company culture.
What Due Diligence in Personal Data Looks Like
In the wake of Sportadmin, effective due diligence that thoroughly assesses the personal data components should no longer be aspirational, it should be standard practice. However, there is no one-size fits all solution. A company should consider a wide variety of measures that allow it to cover ground and clear up uncertainty. The goal is to assess and mitigate risks in management, security and processing personal data.
Here are some of the measures that can be included in a due diligence:
- Comprehensive Data Mapping: Know what data you collect, where it lives, who accesses it, and how it’s secured. This is foundational.
- Third-Party Risk Management: Vendor systems are often the weakest link. Companies must conduct Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA), request SOC 2 or ISO 27001 reports, and insert GDPR-compliant data processing agreements into all contracts.
- Continuous Compliance Monitoring: Annual check-ins are no longer enough. Real-time risk monitoring tools and dynamic compliance dashboards can help organizations stay agile in the face of evolving threats.
- Incident Response Playbooks: Companies must have detailed, rehearsed breach response plans that include legal reporting requirements, user notification templates, and cross-functional task forces.
- Executive Accountability: Data protection must be championed at the board level. GDPR’s accountability principle isn’t just legalese, it’s a mandate for top-down responsibility.
- Compliance Is Not a Silo: GDPR awareness across all the stakeholders in the personal data flow must increase given the detrimental impact a data breach can have on businesses and people’s lives.
A strong data privacy posture cannot be achieved by IT departments alone. Legal, HR, marketing, and operations all handle personal data and must share responsibility. Building a culture of compliance means educating employees, investing in robust tooling, and making privacy a core business value rather than an afterthought.
Moreover, regulation is only growing more complex. In addition to the GDPR, companies may soon face stricter national laws, cross-border data transfer restrictions, and heightened scrutiny from watchdogs like the Swedish Data Protection Authority (IMY).
From a legal standpoint, failure to comply with data privacy and data protection mandatory rules, such as GDPR, can result in substantial fines, litigation, and criminal liability. But the deeper issue is trust. Organizations that treat data privacy as a reactive chore rather than a proactive priority risk losing their customers.
At Eris Law, we believe that due diligence must include a thorough evaluation of an organization’s approach to personal data privacy and protection. This is not just a legal obligation; it’s a critical business imperative. We encourage companies to use this opportunity to identify potential vulnerabilities, reassess their data practices, and reaffirm their commitment to upholding privacy rights.
References:
”Tillsyn mot Sportadmin | IMY” – Published and consulted on April 15th, 2025. https://www.imy.se/nyheter/imy-inleder-tillsyn-mot-sportadmin/