As always, Super Bowl LVII was one of the biggest sporting events in the United States this year, with more than 70,000 sold-out crowds and an estimated 113 million people watching nationwide.
Even though it was a massive event with billions of dollars in economic activity and a championship on the line, it also became a high-profile target for cybercriminals, making Cisco the behind-the-scenes MVP of the Big Game. The more people, places and things connected via the Internet, the more they need to be protected. So, to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted game day experience, the NFL and its official cybersecurity partner Cisco, a global technology giant, have developed the best game plan to ensure the cybersecurity of everyone involved, from players to fans.
Former NFL player Dante Hall spoke with Tomas Maldonado, the NFL's chief information security officer, about what it takes to protect Super Bowl LVII. “My team has worked tirelessly to collaborate with everyone at the national, state and local levels. We test and test things for months, and ultimately we rely on our partner Cisco to ensure we have the best case scenario in the business,” Maldonado explained.
He went on to say that it took “more preparation, building on our success last year, tightening our safety protocols and ensuring we have the best technology and talent.” [to pull it off]But it's not just about preparation.
Distinguished Cisco cybersecurity engineer Mike Storm described the company's approach to the Super Bowl as a football coach's approach to the big game. He said Cisco uses the latest monitoring and threat data to know what the environment will look like leading up to and on game day.
“We approach every project with a game plan. Many of the skills we bring are the same ones needed to play on the field,” Storm said. He compared Cisco's maneuvers to those of a defender, constantly maximizing visibility and assessing threats both near and far.
“When that lightning-quick linebacker comes down the field, the onus is on the running back to make a block to protect the quarterback as he advances,” Storm told Hall. “Cisco is leveraging its security technology to provide the NFL with maximum visibility into its network and multiple layers of protection to ensure it can take the right actions to execute its game plan and ultimately succeed. Because the stakes are so high, we cannot afford to fail. So we won't do that.”
And it bore fruit! According to Cisco, the massive amount of traffic on the network was managed flawlessly, with nearly 17,000 security events blocked and more than 400,000 connections to and from blacklisted locations around the world.
“We have received millions of requests, thousands of which have been blocked or investigated, and every potential attack has been rejected,” Storm said.
The work doesn't stop there. Maldonado says the NFL is becoming a global league, which means it needs to be more connected and secure than ever before. “There is no off-season. We are already preparing and looking forward to the draft,” Maldonado said. “Fans are demanding even more involvement and participation in what is happening. This means more devices and more data requiring instant visibility.”
That's why when the game plan calls for the best defense, the NFL relies on Cisco.
