England footballers to get security talk amid possibility of a cyber attack by hackers in Russia

England’s World Cup stars will be given a briefing by security experts on how to stay safe from hackers during the tournament in Russia.

Gareth Southgate’s players and his coaching staff will get advice from GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) on how to keep their mobile devices secure.

“We continue to receive security advice from all relevant authorities,” an FA spokesman said on Friday.

Russian hackers have wreaked havoc with global cyber-attacks in recent years.

Technology is likely to play a big part in the England players’ downtime during the tournament, with smartphones, tablets, laptops and games consoles expected to be among the devices making the trip.

Several members of Southgate’s squad, including captain Harry Kane and Dele Alli, are well-known players of online games such as Fortnite.

The NCSC has already issued advice to supporters travelling to Russia for the tournament, urging fans to take as few devices as possible and to ensure those they do take with them are running up-to-date software and apps.