Page 273 - Cyber Defense eMagazine August 2024

maintains a fan-facing app with player stats and other team information and software for the team's
coaching and player development.

From a cybersecurity standpoint, the Kraken have some unique challenges. Like any NHL franchise,
team staff are on the road with players for half the season. Team scouts travel around the world year-
round, including to places where the cybersecurity threat environment creates added risks. The daily
threats faced by the team—from phishing, ransomware attempts and identity access management and
more—create a need for strong network and endpoint security as well as correlated threat detection and
response.

To secure this expansive attack surface, the Kraken IT team identified the need for a multilayered, unified
security platform that significantly reduces complexity for users while still providing enterprise-grade
protection. Most importantly, they needed a solution that would enable the team to quickly recognize and
address potential security issues.

While the IT team normally holds off on major technology initiatives until the off-season, they decided to
switch over to the WatchGuard Unified Security platform during the first half of the 2023-2024 campaign.
That created a sense of urgency to make the transition happen as quickly and seamlessly as possible.
With the clock ticking, the Kraken team were able to deploy the WatchGuard platform in less than 12
hours.

The first phase of the transition included the deployment of WatchGuard Firebox firewalls, anti-virus and
patch management, followed by EPDR endpoint security and WatchGuard ThreatSync extended
detection and response (XDR), which integrates data from firewalls and endpoints to surface potential
threats. According to Ryan Willgues, cybersecurity engineer at the Seattle Kraken, WatchGuard’s focus
on providing a single, integrated management interface centered on ease of use has helped streamline
the team’s daily threat monitoring and cybersecurity workflow. “Now, we not only have comprehensive
visibility across our network, but ThreatSync’s AI filters out low-level threats so it’s easy to see what I
need to prioritize,” said Willgues.

With the current season in the books, the Kraken IT team plans to integrate additional components of
WatchGuard’s Unified Security Platform, particularly around identity and access management. That
includes single sign-on and AuthPoint Total Identity Security, which offers multi-factor authentication,
password management, and dark web monitoring for compromised credentials.

For the Kraken, WatchGuard plays a critical role helping the team to maintain vigilance in monitoring for
and defending against attacks amid a continually evolving and increasingly volatile threat landscape.
With a comprehensive, multilayered security solution designed for ease-of-use, the Kraken IT team has
the power to put cyberattackers in the penalty box and ice threats.

Cyber Defense eMagazine – August 2024 Edition 273
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