CASE STUDY
M
otorsport is all about taking
calculated risks. From overtaking,
pushing tyres and engines to the
limit and timing pit stops, every decision
before, during and after a race influences
your position during the season.
With the huge quantities of telemetry,
environmental and competitor data being
processed every second by engineers in the
pit, keeping this information secure and
available when needed is essential.
For McLaren, having a cybersecurity defence
is part of the manufacturer’s winning
formula, both on and off the track.
One of the biggest challenges for McLaren’s
Formula One operation is the sheer quantity of
data required to keep the car competitive – let
alone the extra information and refinement
needed to stay at the top of the sport.
Ultimately, data is the foundation of
making the car go faster and the group’s IT
technicians are responsible for ensuring that
this data safely reaches the right people at
the right time.
64
INTELLIGENTCIO
Within each car there are between 200 and
300 sensors which deliver 100 gigabytes of
data during a race weekend. Providing superior managed security
services to McLaren’s expanding
network perimeter
As well as assisting during the race, McLaren
also uses this data for future design and
engineering – using sophisticated modelling
to optimise the performance of every
component within the car. Round the clock cybersecurity is so
important for McLaren across many areas
of the group, from its customer data and
products, to the organisation’s internal
IT infrastructure. Secureworks deployed a
holistic cybersecurity solution which not
only protects data but allows safe and quick
access to key systems for users.
Off the racetrack, McLaren Group is in
significant growth and much of this
success has been driven by its own Digital
Transformation. As an organisation, it is
moving away from a traditional on-premise
data centres approach, where a firewall
boundary around the organisation was all that
was needed to protect and manage its data.
With a goal to increase efficiency and
innovation throughout the group, McLaren
has embraced workforce trends like flexible
or remote working, meaning that its staff
are no longer all based at the McLaren
Technology Centre. However, they still need
to access their data wherever they are in the
world and across various corporate devices
like smartphones and laptops.
Taking a consultative approach,
Secureworks assessed how McLaren
manages its cybersecurity to ensure its data
is well protected without limiting access to
its employees.
For McLaren, having a trusted partner to
take an objective and measured view of
the group’s cybersecurity risk and where it
might want to position itself whilst delivering
flexibility about how that could evolve over
time was essential. The solutions in use
today include Secureworks iSensor, which
allows McLaren to leverage Secureworks
security experts who scour the global threat
www.intelligentcio.com