England arrived at their World Cup training base in Russia with explicit instructions aimed at preventing them from being victims of online hacking.

Gareth Southgate and his players, along with the entire Football Association entourage, have been briefed by a team of experts from Government Communications Headquarters and warned they will be seen as soft targets unless they take stringent measures to improve their online security.

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They have even received advice about how to conceal belongings in their hotel rooms and, in essence, the best way of hiding items other than using their safes. The players have been warned not to assume they have privacy in their rooms and to go by the general rule that using their safes is not foolproof at a time when many famous sportsmen have been targeted by Russian hackers.

In contrast to a number of FA staff, the players have been allowed to take their usual phones and other personal devices but security experts have installed extra software that will be removed when they return to England. The players have been warned they are high-risk targets and it is understood their team hotel in Repino, on the Gulf of Finland, was swept for bugs before the team arrived on Tuesday.

The other recommendations from GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre are that the players do not access online bank accounts while they are away and avoid internet activity that could cause embarrassment if it were made public. The players were told to take as few devices as possible, to avoid public wifi and not to use the memory sticks that are often handed out at major tournaments. The risk is so high that security experts recommend high-risk visitors to Russia should put tape over the cameras of their laptops.

Ciaran Martin, chief executive of the NCSC, has described Russia as “our most capable hostile adversary in cyberspace”, adding that “tackling them is a major priority for the National Cyber Security Centre and our US allies”. The organisation has also produced an online blog on the Be on the Ball: World Cup 2018 website to offer advice for travelling fans.

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England will be staying at the ForRest Mix Club in Repino, 19 miles from St Petersburg, with their training base a few miles away in the village of Zelenogorsk. “We like the town and we like St Petersburg,” Southgate said.

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“Hopefully the players and family will get an opportunity to go into St Petersburg when not working. We have taken the hotel for ourselves, which will be good for the balance of working and players being able to relax and have time for themselves. I am pleased with the base and looking forward to meeting the community.”

The FA had initially been looking at Black Sea resorts, notably Gelendzhik, but that idea was abandoned because Southgate was worried the summer heat and humidity might be too oppressive. That is not a problem much further north in Repino, where the temperature on England’s arrival was just below the average for June of 16C (61F).

It will be much hotter on Monday when England play their opening Group G game against Tunisia in Volgograd, with temperatures there likely to be one of the main challenges for Southgate’s team.