New York Knicks employees who accepted an offer of free championship rings ended up in mandatory cybersecurity training instead.
The personalized reward was actually bait for a company‑run phishing test.
Here's what to know
TechRadar reported that Madison Square Garden employees got an email claiming the jewelry would come from the same company that makes the players' championship rings.
The email directed recipients to a linked page where they could choose between two designs, Championship Gold or Garden Classic.
The number of affected workers has not been disclosed.
The point of the exercise was to see which employees would click on something sketchy or hand over login information, not to actually hand out jewelry. Joe Vardon of The Athletic reported that people close to the situation confirmed the ring offer was actually a security test.
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More background
Employees already expected championship memorabilia when the offer arrived.
That expectation wasn't far‑fetched, either. NBA teams often hand out cheaper versions of championship jewelry to staff who aren't part of the playing roster.
The test also followed a real incident, after a similarly deceptive email had already tricked employees into giving up their login credentials, Madison Square Garden Sports said.
Those stolen credentials reportedly gave hackers access to company systems, and an extortion attempt followed. That incident is part of why the organization pushed harder on staff awareness, per TechRadar.
Security tests like this one typically build in a few tells, such as an odd sender address or a link that doesn't quite match the real site. Whether the Knicks' email included any of those tells hasn't been revealed, so it's unclear if sharp-eyed employees had a fair shot at catching it.
What's being done?
The training assignments aimed to help workers recognize fraudulent communications, and the organization's response addressed how employees had been drawn into the exercise. The organization acknowledged that using employees' expectations about rings as bait was inappropriate.
TechRadar also reported a separate plan to hand out more than 275 pieces of commemorative jewelry to players, coaches, staff, and other people tied to the franchise, worth upward of $3.7 million altogether.
A handful of assistant coaches opened empty boxes at the celebration and will receive their rings later. Plenty of longtime arena staff and people on the business side reportedly aren't getting anything at all, and the organization hasn't detailed how many people will receive an actual ring instead of other jewelry.
The organization said in a statement: "Using the rings as a lure to gain employees' attention was an unfortunate mistake."
Where can I learn more?
The Knicks' decision to use a promised reward as phishing bait raises questions about employee trust.
• MSG paused sales and cut prices after Knicks fans criticized $1,000 opener seats.
• Workers questioned a break-room gas-card raffle offering $75, including where the money went.
• A California field technician faced always-on personal phone tracking or the loss of shifts.
• Workers reportedly needed manager approval for 911 unless their store was being robbed.
• Equinox members can claim settlement money from a $685,000 agreement over a 2024 data breach.
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