Super Bowl LX: Strengthening Preparation, Building Resilience, Fostering Partnerships

As fans geared up for Super Bowl LX, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) remained committed to ensuring the safety, security, and resilience of the nation’s most-watched annual event. Together with the National Football League, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and local, state, and private-sector partners, CISA coordinated a year-long initiative to protect people, venues, and critical infrastructure to ensure a safe and successful championship game.

Preparation: A Year of Collaborative Efforts

Protecting a high-profile event like Super Bowl LX was no small task. It required detailed planning, extensive mitigation strategies, and coordination across local first responders, regional organizations, and multiple layers of government. CISA Region 9 personnel began this effort well in advance, authoring a tailored playbook based on previous successes and leveraging lessons learned from Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas and Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. Key activities included:

• Conducting physical security assessments, including Infrastructure Survey Tool evaluations and Infrastructure Visualization Platform analyses on venues and nearby critical infrastructure facilities vital to gameday, including water treatment plants, electrical substations, and hospitals.
• Leading tabletop exercises focused on cybersecurity and emergency communications to evaluate potential risk vectors, response capabilities, and team interoperability across local, state, and federal agencies.
• Deploying bombing prevention workshops and tools, such as Explosive Blast Modeling and RAPID walls, to mitigate potential threats around high-risk areas.

The Super Bowl, as a SEAR (Special Event Assessment Rating) 1 event, exemplifies the importance of collaboration across federal, state, local, tribal, territorial, and private sector partners. These high-profile national-level events demand unparalleled preparation and federal coordination to safeguard public safety and ensure operational success.

CISA is proud to serve as a trusted partner in delivering resilient cybersecurity, emergency communications, and infrastructure protection. Together, we enhance the security of critical operations and ensure that both the public and the professionals behind the scenes can enjoy this iconic event safely.

Resilience: Safeguarding Infrastructure and Cyber Landscape

Resilience remains a cornerstone of CISA's approach to ensuring the Super Bowl is both safe and uninterrupted. Cyber advisors coordinated cyber hygiene workshops to strengthen system defenses at venues and critical infrastructure nodes connected to the event. Emergency Communications Coordinators worked closely with federal and local agencies to enforce radio-frequency interference mitigation plans, improve equipment interoperability, and develop comprehensive communications strategies.

With the increasing digital complexity surrounding connected stadiums, ticketing systems, broadcasting, and the game day experience, fostering cybersecurity resilience was critical. CISA provided threat intelligence-sharing platforms and enhanced protection capabilities through partnerships with the private sector and federal intelligence agencies like the FBI and DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis.

"The dedication and expertise displayed by all involved highlight the strength and vitality of these partnerships, which are the backbone of our ability to protect and serve communities during major events like Super Bowl LX,” said Region 9 Director Dr. Gerri Alston-Meggett. “It is through these collective efforts that we secure today and build for a safer tomorrow. On behalf of Region 9, I thank all our partners for their unwavering commitment to safety and resilience."

Partnerships: A Unified Team

None of this could have been possible without strong partnerships. From state agencies and fusion centers to local police and emergency management teams, collaboration ensured a cohesive response to all emerging threats, either physical or digital. The NFL’s security teams and private-sector vendors also played an integral role in coordinating preparations for the Super Bowl. Through shared resources like the CISA Gateway and Geospatial Information Infrastructure, CISA enabled stakeholders to access unified threat analysis and situational awareness tools, maximizing operational coordination.

Reflecting on Success and Staying Ahead

CISA is proud of the entire team’s dedication to fostering preparation, enhancing resilience, and forging enduring partnerships. This work ensures that the NFL’s final game of the season is not just a major sporting event but a celebration of safety, security, and collaboration.

Congratulations to the Super Bowl Champion Seattle Seahawks, the New England Patriots, the media, event stakeholders, and thousands of fans who visited the San Francisco Bay

Area for the big game. We look forward to working with our partners again very soon as we prepare for Super Bowl LXI in 2027. Thank you for keeping this national tradition safe for all!