A Look at the Technology Powering World Cup Security Operations

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is driving federal agencies to accelerate technology deployments across four security domains — counter-drone mitigation, AI-powered biometrics, biosurveillance and cybersecurity — as they prepare for a large-scale security operation spanning 11 host cities.

“These events are an incredible opportunity to showcase the best of America, but they will also require unprecedented collaboration between leaders at the federal, state and local levels to secure these events and keep the public safe,” House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino said during an Feb. 24 hearing on security preparations for the tournament.

The Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) are each driving a piece of that effort, working across 11 host cities to build overlapping layers of protection before and during the tournament.

The prolonged government shutdown complicated the timeline, delaying funding to host states and reducing agency headcount heading into the final stretch of preparations. Officials have acknowledged the pressure while remaining focused on the mission ahead.

Defending the Skies From Drone Threats

Of all the threats heading into the tournament, drones present the most immediate operational challenge.

“The biggest concern I have is, honestly, with drone defense,” said Mullin during a fiscal year 2027 budget hearing before the House Homeland Security Committee. “It is one of the areas that we are struggling with every single day.”

Mullin’s concern is not without reason. At the Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix in May, the department disabled eight unauthorized drones that entered restricted airspace. At the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia, in April, 12 drones breached the no-fly zone. Both events drew large crowds, but the World Cup will dwarf them in scale, increasing the risk of unauthorized drone activity.

Federal officials have deployed counter-drone technologies around World Cup venues. The FAA established temporary flight restrictions around World Cup venues, with violators facing fines up to $100,000.

The FBI and Army’s Joint Interagency Task Force 401 also formed a strategic alliance in February to protect the nation from unmanned aerial threats.

“The threats we face are shared, so our solutions must be as well. Our work with the FBI, to secure major events like the World Cup against the threat of drones, is a prime example of this strategy in action, but our goal is much broader: to build permanent, integrated [counter]-UAS capabilities across the federal government,” said Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, Joint Interagency Task Force 401 director, in a press release announcing the partnership.

The FBI also established the National Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Training Center (NCUTC) in Huntsville, Alabama, last year to train law enforcement and security professionals to detect, assess and counter unmanned aircraft system threats.

“In coordination with federal air marshal services, we will detect and neutralize all unauthorized drone activity,” said FBI Director Andrew Bailey at a June 3 news conference.

Expanding Biometric Screening

With millions of international visitors expected during the tournament, CBP officials say biometric technologies will help speed processing while strengthening identity verification.

Adina Pantella, executive director at CBP, said at the Engage Public Sector Conference in Washington, D.C. May 28, that the agency wants to shift officers away from administrative procedures and toward assessing traveler intent and behavior.

This means expanding biometric comparison capabilities across airport terminals, vehicle lanes and passenger processing systems, as well as integrating AI and machine learning into operations that flag anomalous travel patterns.

CBP’s Vehicle Biometric Capability Evaluation launches this fiscal year, building on pedestrian-lane tools already deployed at land borders. Diane Sabatino, acting executive commissioner at CBP, said testing facial capture in outbound vehicle lanes is critical for identifying individuals departing the U.S. in an environment that has historically been nearly impossible to monitor.

“CBP is excited to continue testing a range of facial biometric technologies and configurations in the vehicle lanes at the land borders to further innovate the entry process,” said Sabatino in an official agency release.

Building a Real-Time Biosurveillance Network

The Department of Homeland Security published a request for information in May seeking AI-powered biosurveillance tools that integrate data across transportation, border, supply chain and agriculture systems.

Ashley Grant, senior health security and biodefense advisor at the department’s Office of Health Security, told the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emergency Management and Technology during a February 11 hearing on agroterrorism threats that advances in AI have lowered the barrier for bad actors seeking to deploy biological agents — and a tournament drawing millions of visitors creates precisely the environment that elevates that risk.

“Advances in biotechnology and artificial intelligence have made it easier for state and non-state actors to develop and deploy biological agents that could devastate crops, livestock and food production, threatening economic stability and national security,” said Grant.

The effort is not limited to federal agencies. Georgetown University and MedStar Health are launching a Health Security Operations Center this month, drawing on wastewater monitoring and hospitalization data from host cities to deliver real-time information to public health officials throughout the tournament.

“Mass-gathering events like the World Cup require the kind of coordinated, multidisciplinary situational awareness that no single institution or jurisdiction can provide alone,” said Rebecca Katz, director of Georgetown’s Center for Global Health Science and Security, in a press release May 13.

Securing Critical Systems Against Cyber Threats

Despite workforce reductions during the government shutdown, CISA has continued coordinating with federal, state and local partners, as well as private-sector organizations, to strengthen cybersecurity and operational preparedness ahead of the tournament. The agency has emphasized information sharing, incident response planning and resilience efforts designed to help host cities prepare for potential disruptions.

CISA has also been conducting preparedness exercises in host cities. In Seattle, the agency worked with local partners at Lumen Field to test operational readiness through scenario-based exercises involving more than 460 participants from over 25 organizations. The exercises simulated the types of fast-moving challenges public safety officials, stadium operators and first responders could face on match days, helping organizations refine coordination and response procedures before the tournament begins.

“We’re not going to fail on the mission that we have in front of us, and cyberattacks are only getting stronger,” said Mullin. “We want CISA to be the leader in cybersecurity. They should be, and they will be.”

Using the World Cup as a Launchpad

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is serving as a proving ground for the technologies, partnerships and coordination models that will help shape security operations for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

Many of the initiatives being deployed for the tournament are designed to extend beyond the final match. DHS’ fiscal year 2027 budget request cites the Olympics as a key driver of investments in state and local security capacity, while programs such as the FBI’s counter-drone training initiative, CBP’s vehicle biometric deployment and DHS biosurveillance efforts are expected to continue evolving.

“As the United States prepares to welcome the world for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the scale and visibility of these events underscore the need for a national security posture that is both adaptive and unified,” the House Committee on Homeland Security wrote in an August 2025 letter to FIFA and the official organizing committee for the next Olympics, LA28.