07/02/2019
NEWS STORY
Mercedes has announced a partnership with CrowdStrike, the leader in cloud-delivered endpoint protection. The endpoint security company is working to protect the team from cyberattacks. Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport will use CrowdStrike's technology platform and services at the race track as well as the team's F1 technology unit in Brackley.
"Formula One is a highly technical sport where Intellectual Property is fundamental to creating and sustaining competitive advantage," said Toto Wolff, Team Principal and CEO, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport. "To win, we need complete confidence in the information and infrastructure that drive our team. I am delighted to have CrowdStrike as our cybersecurity provider and partner."
"Formula One is a highly data-intensive sport - and winning teams know that by leveraging and protecting vast amounts of critical data they can create a true competitive advantage" added George Kurtz, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder at CrowdStrike. "We believe the partnership between Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport and CrowdStrike is setting a new standard in motorsport and cybersecurity. It is an example of a world-beating team striving for excellence in a sophisticated and highly competitive world like Formula One, turning to the world leader in large-scale cloud-delivered cybersecurity to protect its massive infrastructure on race day and throughout the year."
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport manages huge amounts of information - each car produces 500 GB of data alone during an average Grand Prix weekend with a further 5-10 TB produced per week at the factory. Additionally, the team's operations are founded on a complex network of geographically dispersed workforce and facilities, opening up exposure to cyberattacks. CrowdStrike Falcon solves these challenges by enabling critical threat protection through immediate seamless deployments across thousands of endpoints - all via its native cloud architecture.
"Major global sporting events around the world are the target of widespread cyberattacks and the more successful a team is, the more likely they are to be the targets of hackers and eCrime actors looking for intellectual property or notoriety," said Kurtz. "CrowdStrike is excited to be the team to protect against these attacks damaging the reputation and operation of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport, enabling them to focus on what they do best: winning races and championships."
CrowdStrike becomes the fifth partner of Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport from Silicon Valley, further strengthening the team's integrated approach to the digital world. Data is becoming increasingly more important in the world of Formula One and the team is working closely with global leaders in technology to harvest, transmit, encrypt, store, analyse and protect its data in the hunt for improved performance and reliability.