In addition , every NFL stadium ’ s replay control room is built on Cisco technology and connected back to the Art McNally Gameday Central in New York via a Cisco network , and nearly all of the league ’ s official partners and two-thirds of NFL stadiums rely on Cisco technology , including Levi ’ s Stadium and SoFi Stadium , sites of the Super Bowl LX and LXI , respectively .

We asked Tomás Maldonado , NFL Chief Information Security Officer , further questions to find out more .

With the NFL expanding its international operations , how are Cisco ’ s cybersecurity solutions , such as Cisco Umbrella and Cisco XDR , helping to protect the league ’ s global events from evolving cyberthreats ?

When you are securing networks all around the globe , there are numerous challenges that present themselves , so it is important to have the technology and capability of providing a certain standard of security regardless of where the events are being held . Cisco is instrumental in supporting the NFL from network design through operational support .

The introduction of Cisco ’ s security solutions provides the NFL with industry leading cybersecurity protections and capabilities driving our enhanced security posture for the NFL International Games . Cisco XDR and Umbrella help us bring it all into one single pane of glass so that we can efficiently monitor and manage these events . Cisco ’ s technology makes it easier for our team to respond to alerts and secure the networks .

What specific cybersecurity challenges have you faced when managing large-scale events like the Super Bowl and NFL International Games , and how has Cisco ’ s technology helped overcome these challenges ?

Given the number and multiple locations of our tentpole events , we find ourselves facing multitudes of new attack vectors to the networks that we use to support the events . Hosting games around the globe in locations with disparate technology introduces a diverse cyberthreat landscape . At each and every location we face variables in host location ’ s technology stack , their ability to implement appropriate cybersecurity controls and their inherent cyber-response capabilities . Cisco , through their solutions and services , allows the NFL to scale and deploy a platform that helps to meet the needs of large-scale events like the Super Bowl and the NFL International Games .

Cisco ’ s integrated security approach blocked 354,000 connections to blacklisted areas during Super Bowl LVIII . Could you elaborate on the importance of this kind of proactive threat detection for high-profile NFL events ?

Proactive cybersecurity increases efficiency . By leveraging Cisco ’ s advanced security tools and resources it allows us to advance our security controls and become highly proactive . Through their advanced analytics , threat intelligence , Machine Learning and continuous monitoring we are able to deliver a rock-solid cybersecurity posture . Of the 354,000 blocked connections , security practitioners function under the belief that ‘ it only takes one ’.

As the NFL leverages both on-premises and cloud-based security solutions , how do you ensure end-to-end visibility and real-time incident response across such a vast and complex network infrastructure ?

Network visibility is integral for cybersecurity . For security professionals , visibility is critical to detecting , identifying and mitigating risk . As environments expand , becoming more complex , they can become obstacles to visibility .

Cisco ’ s security solutions provide the NFL with visibility across platforms which allow teams to rapidly detect and respond in the event of a cyberincident . Seamless integrations between on-premises and cloud solutions equips the NFL with the power of visibility required to deliver modern day cybersecurity .

Given the dynamic nature of NFL events and their growing international scope , how does Cisco ’ s AI-enhanced security , including Cisco XDR , enable the league to respond quickly and effectively to high-priority cybersecurity incidents ?

Response time to cyberincidents is crucial . Large amounts of telemetry and data are analysed by Cisco ’ s AI-enhanced platforms which provides the ability for our team to make faster and more informed decisions when it matters the most .

Network visibility is integral for cybersecurity .

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