Continuing a 20+ Year Partnership, More Than 385 DHS Personnel on the Ground Working to Protect Estimated 65,000 Fans Attending the Big Game at Allegiant Stadium
NFL Announces it Will Join Secure Our World Cybersecurity Awareness Effort During Super Bowl and Throughout Upcoming Season
DHS Working with Lyft to Equip Drivers in Las Vegas with the Tools to Detect and Report Human Trafficking
WASHINGTON – Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas traveled this week to Las Vegas, Nevada to review Department of Homeland Security (DHS) operations for Super Bowl LVIII with state and local law enforcement and the National Football League (NFL). For the past 18 months, DHS employees worked with local officials to assess potential risks and developed plans to address them. The Department, as the lead federal agency providing Super Bowl security, has not identified specific, credible threats related to this Super Bowl, but DHS continues to bring federal resources to bear.
Over 385 DHS personnel are deployed in Las Vegas to provide extensive air security resources; venue, cyber, and infrastructure security assessments; chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives detection technologies; intelligence analysis and threat assessments; intellectual property enforcement; and real-time situational awareness reporting for our partners.
U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Karon Ransom is serving as the lead Federal Coordinator for Super Bowl LVIII with support from various DHS component agencies and offices and other federal partners. Federal Security Director Karen Burke from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is the Deputy Federal Coordinator, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Supervisory Protective Security Advisor Gonzalo Cordova is the Alternate Deputy Federal Coordinator. DHS leads federal efforts to ensure the safety and security of employees, players, and fans at the Super Bowl for the last two decades.
“The Department of Homeland Security, alongside our federal, state, and local partners, is working to ensure that the 65,000 people attending Super Bowl LVIII and the millions of people gathering together and enjoying the game across the country are all safe,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas. “There are no known, credible, specific threats to the Super Bowl or to Las Vegas at this time – but we are vigilant, and we are prepared.”
As part of these efforts, the NFL also announced today they are joining the Secure Our World cybersecurity awareness campaign. Led by CISA, Secure Our World encourages individuals, families, and small to medium-sized businesses to take simple steps such as using strong passwords, enabling multi-factor authentication, identifying and reporting phishing, and updating software to stay safe and secure online. The cyber safety tips will be seen at the NFL Experience during Super Bowl Week and during the game on Sunday. The league is also committing to working with their teams to advance cybersecurity awareness throughout the 2024-2025 season.
In a historic partnership, the DHS Blue Campaign, part of the DHS Center for Combating Human Trafficking, and Lyft announced a new effort today to educate drivers in the Las Vegas area during Super Bowl week to ensure they have the tools and campaign resources to recognize the signs of human trafficking. Crimes like human trafficking can be more prevalent during events like the Super Bowl due to the mass volume of people and anonymity that large gatherings provide.
"Securing the Super Bowl requires the combined expertise and resources of local, state, and federal law enforcement and public safety agencies,” said U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge and Federal Coordinator Karon Ransom. “Together we are working to ensure a safe event for fans, teams, event staff, and the public.”
Personnel from 12 DHS component agencies and offices are in Las Vegas conducting the following activities to protect fans and attendees:
Identifying, Assessing, and Mitigating Potential Risks: DHS constantly evaluates a range of potential risks, from acts of terrorism to cyber security vulnerabilities, and takes steps to mitigate them.
- CISA conducted physical and cybersecurity vulnerability assessments, planning exercises, and bomb safety workshops with state and local partners ahead of the event.
- The Office of Intelligence &Analysis is working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation to assess the threat landscape leading up to the Super Bowl; this includes sharing timely and actionable information and intelligence with their state and local partners.
- The Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office (CWMD) is providing surge support from its Mobile Detection Deployment Program and its BioWatch program in coordination with the City of Las Vegas. The U.S. Coast Guard’s (USCG) Pacific Strike Team is also supporting the Mobile Detection Deployment Program to bolster the Department’s ability to detect and interdict chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats.
- The TSA will have a Supervisory Federal Air Marshal staffing the Fusion Watch Center, the primary command center for the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, during the event.
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) Air and Marine Operations (AMO) will support Super Bowl security operations enforcing temporary flight restrictions around Allegiant Stadium during Super Bowl LVIII. AMO will provide “eye in the sky” intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flight operations in and around the various NFL venues to provide situational awareness and enhance overall security operations.
- The NFL received a SAFETY Act Designation from DHS, allowing the Allegiant Stadium to invest in the most current security technologies, procedures, services, controls and systems contributing to structural and physical security during the Super Bowl. These measures grant providers of those technologies' liability protections in the event of a terrorist attack.
- For the first time at a Super Bowl, the Science & Technology Directorate (S&T) will deploy easy-to assemble, expandable security barriers that can be installed quickly to provide critical asset protection and intrusion prevention to fill coverage gaps in security at the stadium.
- DHS is also continuing our partnership with the NFL on the “If You See Something, Say Something®” public awareness campaign during the Super Bowl. DHS is working with the Southern Nevada Counterterrorism Center and Las Vegas Police Department using social media and digital displays within the stadium and outreach throughout the Las Vegas area to raise public awareness of the importance of reporting terrorism-related suspicious activity. In partnership with TSA, the campaign also launched its general awareness video at Harry Reid International Airport (LAS) for residents and visitors traveling to and from Las Vegas.
- On Super Bowl Sunday, the Southern Nevada Counter Terrorism Center will partner with the NFL and DHS to host a tip line where the public and game attendees can report suspicious activity. For attendees within Allegiant Stadium, they may call (702) 828-7777 or text (725) 780-2345. Outside of the stadium, the public may call (702) 828-7777 or local authorities.
Actively screening and monitoring people, goods, and vehicles for a range of threats: DHS is leveraging its significant technology assets and dedicated personnel to protect the Super Bowl stadium, Super Bowl week events, and city of Las Vegas against potential threats.
- TSA is utilizing its National Deployment Force to increase the number of transportation security officers who will be working at LAS to screen the increased number of departing passengers following the Super Bowl. TSA explosive detection canines and their handlers will be working during Super Bowl week events at key venues including the Mandalay Bay South Convention Center, Allegiant Stadium, and LAS. TSA will also have four Visible Intermodal Prevention and Response (VIPR) teams on the ground to conduct increased counter-terrorism patrols.
- The USCG is providing five Canine Explosive Detection teams to ensure the safety and security of the event.
- CBP is providing assets including aviation security, video surveillance capabilities, and non-intrusive inspection of vehicles and cargo. CBP officers are also scanning the cargo entering the stadium for contraband such as narcotics, weapons, and explosives.
Protecting fans from counterfeit goods and services: The Department is surging resources to identify and target the vendors of counterfeit merchandise and tickets.
- CBP will be on the frontline in detecting and intercepting these illicit goods before they enter the United States. As in many Super Bowls in the past, criminal organizations will escalate their efforts to make a quick profit defrauding consumers by smuggling counterfeit NFL merchandise. The most commonly seized products are counterfeit NFL jerseys, championship rings, T-shirts, caps and all sorts of souvenirs and memorabilia. Counterfeit merchandise has economic impacts, legal implications, and health and safety risks.
- Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) will deploy special agents to Las Vegas to support CBP, local law enforcement agencies, and other private partners to identify and open investigations against any flea markets, retail outlets, street vendors and online marketplaces selling counterfeit goods during the week leading up to Super Bowl. This work ensures the secure transaction of the over $16.5 billion consumers are expected to spend nationwide, supporting the sale of official – and safe – memorabilia.
Leading emergency response efforts, if they should occur: DHS is taking steps to mitigate risk, align resources, and coordinate communication between security personnel at all levels of government.
- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) supports state and local governments by providing communication tools to help keep fans safe by ensuring state and local responders have the ability to communicate with each other and the public.
- An HSI Special Response Team is standing by to provide interior stadium tactical support if needed.
- On Super Bowl Sunday, CISA will also deploy Advisors and Emergency Communications Coordinators to support local law enforcement, emergency responders, and private partners in Las Vegas.
Preventing human trafficking: In addition to the groundbreaking partnership with Lyft, the Department is partnering with law enforcement and other industry partners to educate the public on the indicators of human trafficking and how to appropriately respond to possible cases.
- DHS Blue Campaign is also disseminating digital and out-of-home advertising in the Las Vegas area to raise awareness of human trafficking among visitors, local residents, and those working in industries, such as hotels, hospitality, and transportation, where front line employees are more likely to be in a position to identify and report human trafficking.
- The Campaign’s Blue Lightning Initiative is also partnering with Harry Reid International Airport to raise awareness and train staff to recognize and report human trafficking.
For the past 20 years, DHS has provided security assistance to the NFL Super Bowl because of the event’s significant national and/or international importance, which requires extensive federal interagency support to resolve any resource gaps in security planning. DHS assessed the Super Bowl this year as a Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) Level 1 event. The extensive security measures implemented for this Super Bowl build on success protecting large-scale events in the last year, where DHS helped secure 18 Special Event Assessment Rating (SEAR) events – including the first ever designations for the Chicago NASCAR Street Race, the NFL Draft, and the Boston Marathon – and three National Special Security Events (NSSE).
For more information visit the SEAR Fact Sheet webpage.
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