IAAF hacked by 'Fancy Bears'

The IAAF has confirmed that information on athletes' therapeutic use exemption (TUE) applications has been compromised after the sport's governing body was hacked by the 'Fancy Bears' group.

The organisation was made aware of the situation last month but it is unclear whether information was stolen from the network.

Athletes who have applied for TUEs were contacted on Monday.

"Our first priority is to the athletes who have provided the IAAF with information that they believed would be secure and confidential," said IAAF president Sebastian Coe.

"They have our sincerest apologies and our total commitment to continue to do everything in our power to remedy the situation and work with the world's best organisations to create as safe an environment as we can."

In a statement the IAAF added: "We have received the full support of the IAAF during the subsequent Cyber Incident Response engagement and, throughout the investigation, the IAAF have understood the importance and impact of the attack and have provided us comprehensive assistance.

"This has been critical in allowing us to both quickly identify the nature of the intrusion and to provide a full and diligent resolution."

The Russian group "Fancy Bears" first began revealing details of athlete's confidential details when it hacked the World Anti-Doping Agency last September with Serena and Venus Williams, Justin Rose and Mo Farah among those who had their medical files made public.

A TUE allows athletes to take substances that are on WADA's prohibited list if they have an illness or condition that requires the use of the medication.  

The Masters is live on eir Sport with coverage from Augusta National beginning with the Par 3 Contest on Wednesday.