What Cybersecurity Can Learn From Car Racing TechTarget and Informa Tech’s Digital Business Combine.TechTarget and InformaTechTarget and Informa Tech’s Digital Business Combine.Together, we power an unparalleled network of 220+ online properties covering 10,000+ granular topics, serving an audience of 50+ million professionals with original, objective content from trusted sources. 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Securing the Win: What Cybersecurity Can Learn From the PaddockA Formula 1 pit crew demonstrates the basic principles of how modern security teams should work.Dave Lewis, Global Advisory CISO, 1Password, 1PasswordNovember 20, 20255 Min ReadSource: Wisnu Haryo Yudhanto via Alamy Stock PhotoCOMMENTARYWhen you step into an F1 garage, it looks like a movie set until you pay closer attention. Dozens of laptops glow, radios chirp, and sensors aplenty are monitoring everything from fluid levels to tire pressure. Mechanics move with a surreal type of choreography. It is a rolling data center that sprints across continents from week to week. Oracle Red Bull Racing operates within this rhythm, and its habits map cleanly to how modern security teams should work.This crossover is more than a metaphor. The car is the product. The strategy is the road map. The pit wall is the command center. When the lights go out, there is no buffer for misrouted access or stale credentials.Treat Insider Risk Like a Racing IncidentF1 has a long history with espionage. The greatest exposure rarely starts at the perimeter with nefarious types peering through the fence; it starts innocently enough with someone who has access, then feels pressure, and ultimately finds an opening. The lesson is simple: It’s important to treat insider risk as a safety problem. Once, at the Montreal Grand Prix, I took a picture in the pit of tires that had sensors attached. That was not well-received—an innocent mistake on my part that could have inadvertently exposed sensitive information. Related:Fastly CISO: Using Major Incidents as Career CatalystsTwo more moves matter. First: shortening the lifespan of sensitive credentials. Long-lived secrets invite quiet misuse. I've worked in environments in the past where accounts had not been changed, let alone audited, in over 10 years. Second: pairing alerts with responsible owners. If someone clones a restricted repository from a new device, a real person should get the page and know what to do.Run Zero Trust at Race PaceAssumptions are slow. Proof is fast. That is the core of zero trust in a paddock that packs up on Sunday night and rebuilds on Thursday in a different time zone, such as going from the Las Vegas Grand Prix to the Grand Prix in Qatar.    Build your control plane around identity, verified device posture, and the principle of least privilege. Use groups and roles to represent the actual work people do, not the titles they carry. Keep sensitive access short-lived. Collapse old exceptions. The right people will still get to their tools. They will get there with less guesswork.We have to understand that tools matter here. Replace ad-hoc sharing with approvals that leave a trail. Use passkeys for fast sign-in across laptops and tablets. The outcome is speed with guardrails, not speed despite them.Build a Culture That Drills, Not HopesRelated:From FBI to CISO: Unconventional Paths to Cybersecurity SuccessDuring an F1 race, the crew can make a pit stop look easy—that is, until you try it.  Speed and accuracy are achieved through repetition, clear roles, and feedback. Security works much the same way. You can buy controls. You cannot buy good habits.There is a need to teach not only how, but also why. Make the boundaries explicit. If a strategist needs a brief window into a restricted model, there is a process. It is quick, recorded, and closes when the work ends. Treat policy friction like a bug you can fix, not a reason to bypass your own rules.Practice like you are in a race. Rotate who leads the exercise. End with actions, owners, and dates. Fast-twitch muscle fibers get stronger when you use them.Keep the Human Factor Front and CenterTechnology scales. People decide. That is where reputations are won or lost. Unsanctioned tools spread quickly in a company. AI agents move information between contexts you thought were separate. None of this is malicious by default. It is risky by default.You need to meet people where they are. Ship managed options that match the tools your staff already like to use. Provide teams with a safe space to experiment with new services, and then integrate the winners into your established standards. Curiosity is healthy. Untracked sprawl is not.Related:How Architectural Controls Can Help Fill the AI Security GapA Playbook to Run This MonthYou do not need a race team to copy these moves. You need focus and cadence.Pick three crown jewels. List who needs access to what and why. Remove everyone else this week.Verify identity on the hard stuff. Require phishing-resistant authentication for code, finance, and production. Remove legacy paths that skip multifactor authentication.Move a sensitive workflow into a managed vault. Use a secrets manager to hold credentials, secrets, and shared logins. Replace chat-based sharing immediately.Shorten credential life. Rotate shared secrets now. Switch administrative tasks to short-lived tokens. Record who requested them and when they expired.Test offboarding for real. Choose one recent departure. Verify that all access is closed across identity, SaaS, repos, and internal docs. Fix the gaps you find.Instrument the story. Track time to provision, time to revoke, count of privileged accounts, and open exceptions. Review these numbers every month with the same focus you bring to incident metrics.Drill one scenario. Run a 30-minute insider risk exercise. Include IT, security, and a business enabler. Assign two improvements and close them within two weeks.Where the Crossover Becomes ConcreteTake a moment to watch a pit stop. The crew hits its marks because the system removes any sense of ambiguity. Everyone knows their tool, timing, and boundary. Security should feel the same. When a developer reaches for a secret, it is there. When someone finishes a contract, the lights go off cleanly.That consistency does not slow you down. It frees you to go faster because you can trust the edges of your system. You can be assured that the car will perform flawlessly when racing past a wall with a millimeter to spare. The performance is visible. The discipline stays quiet.Winning is a system. Oracle Red Bull Racing shows what that looks like under real pressure. Prove identity. Shrink trust. Practice until the moves are muscle memory. The podium comes from precision, lap after lap. Your security program can run the same way.About the AuthorDave LewisGlobal Advisory CISO, 1Password, 1PasswordDave is the Global Advisory CISO at 1Password. He brings over 30 years of industry experience, extensively in IT security operations and management, at companies such as Akamai, IBM, Duo Security, Cisco, and AMD. He is also the founder of the security site Liquidmatrix Security Digest as well as host of the Liquidmatrix, Plaintext, and Chasing Entropy podcasts. Dave currently serves on the board of directors for BSides Las Vegas and the advisory board for the Black Hat Sector Security Conference. He co-founded the BSides Toronto conference and was a goon on the speaker operations team for DEF CON for over 13 years. He previously held a board position at (ISC)². For fun, Dave loves playing bass guitar, grilling, and spending quality time with his kids. He’s also a part owner of a whisky distillery and a soccer team.See more from Dave LewisMore InsightsIndustry Reports2025 State of Threat Intelligence: What it means for your cybersecurity strategyGartner Innovation Insight: AI SOC AgentsState of AI and Automation in Threat IntelligenceGuide to Network Analysis Visibility SolutionsOrganizations Require a New Approach to Handle Investigation and Response in the CloudAccess More ResearchWebinarsIdentity Security in the Agentic AI EraHow AI & Autonomous Patching Eliminate Exposure RisksSecuring the Hybrid Workforce: Challenges and SolutionsCybersecurity Outlook 2026Threat Hunting Tools & Techniques for Staying Ahead of Cyber AdversariesMore WebinarsYou May Also LikeFEATUREDCheck out the Black Hat USA Conference Guide for more coverage and intel from — and about — the show.Latest Articles in The EdgeSame Old Security Problems: Cyber Training Still Fails MiserablyNov 20, 2025Learning Sales Skills Can Make Security Professionals More EffectiveNov 14, 2025|4 Min ReadHow CISOs Can Best Work With CEOs and the Board: Lessons From the FieldNov 13, 2025|5 Min ReadMicrosoft Exchange 'Under Imminent Threat,' Act NowNov 12, 2025|4 Min ReadRead More The EdgeEdge PicksApplication SecurityAI Agents in Browsers Light on Cybersecurity, Bypass ControlsAI Agents in Browsers Light on Cybersecurity, Bypass ControlsDiscover MoreBlack HatOmdiaWorking With UsAbout UsAdvertiseReprintsJoin UsNewsletter Sign-UpFollow UsCopyright © 2025 TechTarget, Inc. d/b/a Informa TechTarget. 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The cybersecurity industry can learn a significant amount from the high-stakes, meticulously orchestrated world of Formula 1 racing. As Dave Lewis of 1Password articulates, the parallels between a Formula 1 pit crew and a modern security team are striking, particularly regarding approach, response, and ultimately, achieving consistent, reliable performance. The core of the comparison lies in the shift from reactive to proactive, and the emphasis on ingrained processes and clearly defined roles.

The F1 garage isn’t a chaotic space; it’s a precisely calibrated system. The car itself embodies the product, the strategy maps the road, and the pit wall represents the command center. When the lights go out, there’s no room for misrouted access or stale credentials. This mirrors the principles of treating insider risk as a critical safety issue, much like a pit crew wouldn’t tolerate a misstep that could jeopardize the entire race.

Several key elements stand out. Firstly, the concept of shortening the lifespan of sensitive credentials is directly analogous to the F1 team’s rapid preparation for each race. Long-lived secrets represent considerable risk, similar to how leaving a car sitting for extended periods increases wear and tear. Secondly, pairing alerts with responsible owners is vital. Just as a mechanic isn’t merely notified of a problem but is empowered to address it, security teams need individuals accountable for monitoring and responding to potential threats.

The F1 team’s approach to zero trust can be translated into a security framework. Assumptions are slow; proof is fast. The paddock operates with a race-pace mentality. Building the control plane should focus on identity, verified device posture, and least privilege. Groups and roles, mirroring the team’s functional structure, are more effective than generalized titles. Shortening access and collapsing exceptions further reduce risk.

However, it's not simply about replicating the process. The team’s culture of repetition, clear roles, and feedback is equally crucial. Security teams need a culture that drills until those ingrained processes become muscle memory. It's about understanding *why* the actions are taken, not just *how*. Boundaries are explicitly defined, and friction is treated as a fixable bug, not a reason to bypass controls.

Furthermore, the analogy extends to the human element. Technology scales, but people make the decisions. Untracked sprawl and unmanaged access represent heightened risk. The team works with tools that are readily available and trusted. A key lesson is that security isn’t about buying controls; it’s about building genuine habits and trust.

The team’s focus on precision, lap after lap, aligns with the goal of a resilient security program. This requires a commitment to consistent monitoring, rigorous testing, and continuous improvement. Implementing a playbook, structured around three “crown jewels,”—identifying and securing critical assets—provides a tangible starting point. The team can streamline access, verifying identities and eliminating unnecessary vulnerabilities.

The ultimate takeaway is that a successful security program, like a winning Formula 1 team, is a system—a meticulously designed and relentlessly executed process. It requires precision, a deep understanding of the environment, and a dedicated team operating with unwavering focus.