1Password signs on as official cybersecurity partner of Utah’s NBA, NHL teams

Picture this: there are six left on the clock in Utah, and the Jazz are down by two to New York. To win, they need a perfectly executed play that will see Lauri Markkanen set a screen for Keyonte George, currently the team’s best three-point shooter. Coach Will Hardy pulls out the iPad to finalize the details. But when he calls up the play chart, instead of the diagram he’s looking for, there’s just a big middle finger overlaid with the words BING BONG, GO KNICKS.

Someone has hacked into the Jazz’s system, and their hopes of winning are dashed.

Now imagine this never happening, because the Knicks fan who tried breaking into the system was stopped by robust authentication. That’s the much more likely scenario now, with the announcement that the Jazz are adopting 1Password as the franchise’s official cybersecurity partner.

A release says the Toronto-based company has entered a multi-year partnership with Smith Entertainment Group (SEG), the parent company of the NBA’s Utah Jazz and the NHL’s Utah Mammoth, making it the official cybersecurity partner for both teams to protect data and communications at the Delta Center and beyond.

“Giving teams the tools they need to move fast while keeping them digitally protected is at the heart of how organizations win, whether in business, sports or technology,” says David Faugno, CEO of 1Password. “Through the Extended Access Management suite of solutions, we ensure the right person or AI agent has access to the right app from a trusted device. As a result, the Jazz and Mammoth organizations can stay focused on winning on the court, on the ice and in the community.”

1Password’s Extended Access Management suite includes Enterprise Password Manager, Trelica and Device Trust. The product protects credentials and data with centralized, secure vaulting; and provides greater visibility of every app and credential in use; enhances security with device posture checks and least-privilege access across distributed personnel.

However, 1Password is not simply working behind the scenes to protect identity and access. Having partnered with Formula One on livery for racing cars, the company now has its badge on an NHL uniform, with 1Password’s branding on the Mammoth away jerseys.

And, on the fan experience side, 1Password is introducing the Away-Game Hospitality Program, an exclusive access scheme to host leading businesses in key markets and have “meaningful discussions about the intersection of identity security and AI.”

Whether it’s the puck dropping or the buzzer going, 1Password is now entrenched in the Utah sporting experience. The firm appears to see sports as an important convergence point for digital identity, cybersecurity and machine learning tech, with its most recent announcements centered on agentic AI. More sports world partnerships in the future seem likely; the game, as they say, is just beginning.

Article Topics

1Password  |  cybersecurity  |  digital identity  |  identity access management (IAM)