Read our latest threat Report

Defending the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games

Staying vigilant on the world's largest stage.

Read more on latest threat Report

Be Victorious on the
World's Biggest Stage

Through the Unit 42 Cyber Vigilance program, Palo Alto Networks partners with
CISOs and their teams to prepare for and secure large-scale events against
modern threats. Explore the framework below for the potential risks and tips
defenders can take to position themselves for success.

Anticipate + Prepare

Pre-Event

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Capabilities Assessment

Will your existing tech stack and playbooks provide the visibility needed to detect an attack?

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Threat Profiling

Who is most likely to disrupt the event and are your defenses positioned to stop them?

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Attack Surface Assessment

Are there exposures in your attack surface a threat actor might expose?

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Ransomware Readiness

Are you prepared to respond to a ransomware attack?

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Crisis & Response Training

Does everyone in your organization know their roles and responsibilities in a cyber emergency?

Monitor + Respond

During, Post-Event

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Threat Monitoring

As the event goes live, we’ll monitor the Dark Web for any mention of participating organizations.

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Incident Response on Standby

Our incident response experts will be on standby with a 2-hour SLA, should an incident occur.

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Lessons Learned Workshop

After the event, we’ll conduct a lessons learned workshop to capture wins and areas for improvement.

Why Attackers Target
Global Events

A Target Rich Environment

The sheer volume of people, systems, money and data surrounding large scale events creates a target-rich environment for attackers.

High-Value Marks

Nation-state actors will take advantage of close access to VIPs, mounting sophisticated attacks to surveil them and their staff.

Critical Infrastructure

The integration of utilities, transportation, stadium functions and more creates complexity and gaps that attackers can exploit.

Geopolitical Tensions

Given a divisive political climate, groups or individual actors may attempt to hijack or deface digital infrastructure to amplify their stance.

Visibility

With millions to billions of viewers worldwide, disruption could bring visibility and credibility to the threat actor’s cause or organization.

Unit 42: Preparing You for
the World's Largest Events

High-profile global events like the FIFA World Cup 2026 create a target-rich environment for financially motivated criminals, hacktivists, and nation-state actors seeking to disrupt critical infrastructure, commit fraud, or conduct espionage against complex, temporary digital ecosystems.

To address these intensified risks, the Unit 42 Cyber Vigilance Program leverages deep experience securing major sporting events, including the Qatar 2022 World Cup and Paris 2024 Olympics, to equip organizations with executive-level crisis simulation workshops, bespoke threat intelligence briefings, and proactive technical assessments.

Delivered through tiered "Event Readiness" services, the program strengthens operational resilience by combining pre-event preparation services like dark web monitoring and playbook development with rapid, 24/7 incident response support featuring a 2-hour response SLA.

For large-scale events, the stakes are high and success is the only option. Through our Cyber Vigilance Program, with its realistic simulations, tailored feedback, and hands-on support, you’ll arrive at your event ready to defend at your peak.

World-renowned threat research

We work alongside organizations and governments of all types and sizes, all over the globe. No one is more in touch with the threat landscape — who's making moves, how they operate, and what tactics they employ to achieve their ends.

Understand the latest TTPs and IOCs

Every attacker leaves a trail. However, as tactics change, so do the indicators you need to check for. Whether it’s a zero-day vulnerability, widespread supply chain attack, or a novel new malware, we specialize in keeping defenders ahead of the curve.

Assessments and consulting

Leverage our team in meeting your goals, whether you’re looking to secure your cloud environment, advance your zero-trust strategy, assess the risk in your attack surface, and prepare your security team with incident simulations or other assessments that will pressure test your security posture.

See Defense in Action

Green Bay Packers
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Green Bay Packers

Protecting a high-visibility environment with a lean team, the Packers increased data ingestion by 490% while reducing alert noise by 95%. This 250% efficiency gain provided the confidence needed to secure a complex attack surface.

Oneida Nation
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Oneida Nation

Securing 17,000+ members across government services, healthcare, hospitality and gaming, Oneida reduced MTTR to just 43 seconds after implementing Unit 42 MDR and Cortex XSIAM. They now ingest 7x more data at 20% lower cost, enabling rapid, accurate response across a highly complex environment.

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Go from reactive to proactive

Our consultants serve as your trusted advisors to assess and test your security controls, transform your security strategy with an intelligence-informed approach, and respond to incidents in record time.
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