OPINION
From the FIFA World Cup to the United States’ sesquicentennial celebration, this year’s event calendar is packed with high-profile gatherings drawing global audiences, intense scrutiny, and enormous security demands. Most are designed to unfold without incident, but “uneventful” does not mean risk-free.
The threats surrounding major events often begin long before anyone reaches the gate. A compromised hotel system can reveal where athletes, executives or delegations are staying. A breach involving government or ministry offices can expose schedules and movements. Threats aimed at fan events, themed gatherings or transit hubs can target the outer ring of security, where crowds are harder to control and attackers may see more opportunity.
I’ve spent much of my career looking at how risks take shape around major events, executives and public-facing organizations. In that time, I’ve seen event security programs become more sophisticated, better resourced and more comprehensive. Cameras, bag checks and perimeter controls remain essential, but they work best as part of a broader strategy. The most effective programs account for risks forming across the wider event ecosystem, digitally and physically, before attendees ever arrive.
Threat Actors Start Early
Across the assessments I’ve worked on, I’ve seen the same pattern emerge. Premeditated threats usually leave digital traces before they create visible security concerns. Those signals can form around any major gathering, from a championship match or global competition to a festival or political event, because hostile activity tends to organize around the brand, the audience, the people attending and the digital exposure created by all of it.
Threat actors begin preparing well before an event starts, registering domains, collecting exposed credentials, monitoring public schedules, scraping employee and vendor information, following social media activity and studying the ecosystem around an event long before crowds gather. By the time attendees arrive, the groundwork for disruption, fraud, or targeting may already be in place.
Premeditated threats rarely appear all at once. They develop through small signals across public channels, fringe platforms, messaging apps, criminal forums or the deep Dark Web. A suspicious post, fake ticketing site, or leaked hotel details may look isolated on its own, but together, those signals can point to a broader risk picture.
That is why digital security and threat intelligence need to be built into event planning from the beginning. A robust security program should include resources for monitoring the online environments where premeditated threats take shape, connecting related signals and escalating the risks that could become physical security concerns.
The disrupted Taylor Swift concert plot in Vienna in 2024 illustrates why this matters. The warning signs did not begin at the venue or on the day of the event. Authorities were able to act before the concerts took place after intelligence surfaced from sources like Telegram. The case showed how online activity can surface threats with serious physical implications, and why digital intelligence has to be part of event security planning from the start.
Physical and Cyber Threats Can’t Be Separated
Preparing to secure an event requires looking at both the physical environment and the digital activity surrounding it. Risks tied to public safety, travel, ticketing, impersonation, data exposure and cybercrime may appear separately on paper, but they often connect in ways that shape real-world security decisions.
That connection is what makes early digital visibility so important. A protest may begin as online chatter before creating physical disruption. A fraudulent accommodations listing may start online but affect attendees on the ground. A breach involving a team, vendor, or organizer can expose information useful for real-world targeting. What appears to be a cyber issue can quickly become a physical security concern.
Physical security systems remain essential. Cameras, access controls, screening and perimeter protections can help identify and stop threats as they approach the venue. But if those systems are the first time a team sees a risk, the response is already reactive. A stronger program uses digital intelligence earlier in the planning cycle, so teams can identify and address threats before they escalate.
The challenge is that event-related risk does not always move through the front gate. Large, distributed gatherings create exposure across hotels, airports, transportation routes, fan zones, sponsor activations, media appearances, executive movements, and unofficial gatherings. America’s 250th celebration and the upcoming World Cup are different events, but they illustrate the same security principle: the security picture extends well beyond the venue.
That broader environment matters because people, not just venues, shape the risk picture. Athletes, public officials, corporate leaders, sponsors, vendors, and attendees may move through hotels, transportation routes, fan events, and sponsor dinners before and after the main event. If those exposures are not identified early, even strong perimeter security can leave teams reacting to risks that began elsewhere.
Good Strategy Starts Before Event Day
The most effective event security strategies begin long before the event itself. Pre-event assessments should look across the full ecosystem surrounding the gathering, including the venue, vendors, high-profile attendees, online communities, travel infrastructure, and nearby gathering points.
A practical event program should prioritize three areas:
High-profile individuals: Recent incidents, including the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the assassination of Charlie Kirk, show that public violence is not always aimed at crowds. Often, the risk centers on a specific person whose visibility, schedule, or movements create exposure.
Activity outside the perimeter: Strong venue security matters, but not every risk moves through the front gate. A shooting near SXSW, even if unrelated to the event itself, shows why teams need to understand what is happening around hotels, transportation routes, restaurants, fan events, and public spaces where attendees gather.
Early digital threat intelligence: Security investment should not stop at physical protection. Teams also need resources to monitor digital signals early, use technology to triage activity, rely on analysts to validate risk, and act quickly when escalation or takedowns are needed.
The goal is not to chase every signal. It is to identify the signals that matter, understand how they connect, and make the right decisions before the pressure hits. That requires collaboration before there is a crisis, with physical security, cyber, executive protection, communications, legal, vendors, venue operators, and public-sector partners working from the same risk picture.
The teams that succeed are the ones that define ownership early, share intelligence across functions, and give both physical and digital teams a clear path to act. The goal is not to see everything, but to recognize the signals that matter early enough to protect people before a risk becomes a crisis.
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