The modern world presents a complex issue for Formula 1.<\/p>\n
A plethora of systems, apps and AI-driven workflows multiply the number of keys, tokens and passwords in use, each creating a potential weak point to be abused. Oracle Red Bull Racing<\/a>\u2019s response has been to build a culture that controls information while implementing software that makes access more secure and efficient.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s the through line from Mark Hazelton, Oracle Red Bull Racing\u2019s chief security officer, speaking to host Calum Nicholas on episode two of the\u00a0Securing the Win podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe world was a different place back then,\u201d Hazelton says, reflecting on two decades inside the team. \u201cEspionage. It’s as old as there’s been industry. And, whilst somebody has something they want to keep private, somebody else has wanted to know about it.<\/p>\n \u201cSo this is an ongoing thing for an awful long time.\u201d<\/p>\n More ways to engage with the show and 1Password:<\/p>\n Watch the show on YouTube<\/a> The threat of espionage hit headlines in 2007 when a rival outfit was found to be in possession of another team\u2019s intellectual property. After an FIA investigation, the team was excluded from the championship and handed a $100million penalty – the largest financial penalty of its kind.<\/p>\n \u201cTheft of IP, loss of IP, accidental loss of IP, etc can mean the difference between winning and losing,\u201d he warned.<\/p>\n While Hazelton\u2019s role in the team started in the implementation of ERP and CAD systems, it has evolved with the times as teams are now forced to defend against information leakage.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s not just espionage or information gathering between different companies anymore. It’s also protection from all the other world events. Know your WannaCry outbreaks, your ransomware, malware, phishing attacks, communal garden fraud, etc.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo, there’s insider risk. There’s the threat of loss to the competition, but you’ve also got this whole challenging environment, the whole ecosystem. We’ve got to protect against a number of different threat vectors.\u201d<\/p>\n This is why Oracle Red Bull Racing is focused on reducing friction, because hard logins and mislaid passwords create shadow IT.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to focus on making things fluid and smooth where we can,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we can’t introduce any downtime. Our engineers are laser focused on what they’re doing, etc. We try not to get in the way. So any time we do something, we try and make something easier.\u201d<\/p>\n Other Episodes:<\/p>\n The target is to reduce the length of this process while maintaining data security.<\/p>\n \u201cIn those days, every application you went into, you’d have had to put a new password in. A different password for everything. These days, much less friction.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo VPN, you fire your laptop up, it connects to the internet. It’s always on.<\/p>\n \u201cSo those things where we’re constantly improving and that’s where things like 1Password come along and help us with things like that.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSo, from your perspective, that would have been a little bit of a challenge,\u201d he tells Nicholas, who was previously an mechanic for the team. \u201cFrom a high-performance computer engineer\u2019s and developer\u2019s perspective, that sort of thing is an absolute nightmare because they’re having to put those passwords in and refresh those logins constantly throughout the day.\u201d<\/p>\n Friction isn\u2019t just an annoyance; it\u2019s lost time on the car. Removing this friction using 1Password allows the team to simply get on with their jobs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Oracle Red Bull Racing didn\u2019t stop at more efficient sign-on methods; it vaulted developer secrets and tightened control over where these can end up.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThere’s a couple of things with 1Password in itself. We do have more single sign-on. We’ve got a lot of developer secret type stuff going on to remove that friction that we\u2019re talking about, the friction in everybody going about their daily jobs, and as part of the solution we\u2019re looking at managing the unmanaged apps that are evolving and being used.\u201d<\/p>\n There are larger things coming, however, with Hazelton warning of AI and even quantum computing becoming part of the equation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think the really big shift is going to be quantum at some point in the future. Quantum computing mixed with AI. Who knows what that’s going to bring.\u201d<\/p>\n Pushed further on the role of AI within the team, the Briton sees it as another tool to be used to seek success.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve used advanced mathematics in compute for years and years. From the Monte Carlo simulations through to the various different analytic techniques and machine learning that we use, etc. AI is another branch there. It’s coming thick and fast.\u201d<\/p>\n Hazelton sums up his reality as \u201c97% boredom, 3% sheer terror.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you get the basics right, hopefully you don’t get the excitement,\u201d he says. With 1Password in charge of how sensitive data is managed, the team ensures the routine 97% prevents the 3% from deciding a title.<\/p>\n We want to hear from you!<\/p>\n Let us know what you would like to see from us in the future.<\/p>\n
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