New York Knicks Owner Dolan Orders Staff Security Course After Fake Ring Email Test

James Dolan, owner of the New York Knicks, New York Rangers and Madison Square Garden, ordered employees to attend a mandatory cybersecurity class after some staff clicked a link in a simulated scam email. The training followed a test message sent to Madison Square Garden employees in late September offering free championship rings, The New York Times reported on Thursday, citing team sources.

The email carried the subject line "Congratulations, your Employee Championship Ring is here" and asked recipients to click a link to select between two ring designs. Employees who clicked were required to attend the cybersecurity class, according to the report. The training was arranged to address Dolan's concerns about cybersecurity.

The message arrived days before the Knicks raised their first league championship banner since 1973 on Tuesday. The team won its first NBA title in more than 50 years. Joe Vardon, senior NBA writer for The Athletic, wrote that staff at NBA teams typically receive rings, though versions given to employees are less elaborate and less costly than those issued to players.

At Tuesday's banner ceremony, the team's assistant coaches received boxes that contained no rings. They are expected to get their rings later. The Athletic was acquired by The New York Times in 2022 and merged into the parent news organization.

Simulated phishing messages are commonly sent by large companies to identify which employees overlook warning signs in suspicious email. Such tests frequently appear to come from the employer but include details that reveal them as fakes. Condé Nast, the parent company of Ars Technica, sends test messages from a misspelled domain, condenest.com. It was not clear whether the Knicks email contained a misspelled domain or another visible red flag.