The Big 12 announced Thursday that no helmet communication had been compromised amid concerns over a vulnerability in the system, following a review of conference games.
The Athletic first reported Wednesday that the league had instructed schools to return coach-to-player helmet communication provided by GSC so it could receive an update to patch a flaw in the system. That flaw was discovered at AT&T Stadium during the Texas A&M vs. Arkansas game last month, according to multiple sources briefed on the situation.
Personnel from all Power 4 conferences were aware of the situation, but athletic directors across multiple P4 conferences told The Athletic that word hadn’t made it up to them until this week. Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt raised the issue at a Big 12 AD meeting earlier in the week. The Red Raiders lost to TCU on Saturday.
“Following the industry-wide concerns surrounding helmet communications, the Big 12 conducted a review of conference games and helmet communications processes to address any issues member institutions raised regarding this matter,” the Big 12 said in a statement Thursday. “The review showed that at no point was any Big 12 competition compromised. All Big 12 helmet communications programs now have the encryption update from GSC, and schools may use either CoachComm or GSC for coach-to-player communication at their discretion.”
The SEC said in a statement Wednesday that it was aware of the flaw, hadn’t found any instances of communications being compromised and that schools could receive the system update at a time of their choosing. A Big Ten spokesperson would only say the league had not had any issues.
Each of the Power 4 conferences use GSC, which also supplies the NFL’s helmet communication. While the NFL communication is encrypted, multiple P4 administrators believe their system was not, though GSC has staff at games to handle and monitor frequencies. Messages left with GSC by The Athletic have not been returned. Group of 5 conferences use CoachComm, which provides coaching headsets for almost all of Division I. Texas Tech has since switched to CoachComm, a school source said.
“We’re using a system that is not encrypted. And it’s the same company that provides the NFL. And the NFL’s is encrypted. So I’m going, ‘Why the hell isn’t our system encrypted?’ Whose miss is that?” said a Big 12 school administrator. “Why would we even have thought about using a system that wasn’t encrypted?”
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