"Strengthening Cybersecurity in Sports Stadiums"

During the February 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, an alarm was pulled, which caused students to move into the hallways towards danger. Nate Evans is the cybersecurity program lead at the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory who helps minimize the cybersecurity risks faced by sports stadiums and concert arenas. Evans has expressed concern about the use of cyberattacks to cause physical damage or put people in more danger, similar to that of pulling a fire alarm during a shooting. Systems used in stadiums, such as those that support fire alarms and ventilation, are digitally connected, making them more vulnerable to cyberthreats. Therefore, Evans and his colleagues created an online survey to be used as an assessment tool for team and stadium owners. The survey will help stadium owners address cyber vulnerabilities and obtain credentials for the Department of Homeland Security's SAFETY Act program. This article continues to discuss the shift in cyberattacks to cause physical damage, the assessment tool aimed at helping stadium owners fix vulnerabilities, the SAFETY Act program, and the steps that should be taken by teams and stadium owners to combat cyber threats.  

Homeland Security News Wire reports "Strengthening Cybersecurity in Sports Stadiums"