无人机与独狼式袭击是FBI安保工作的核心关切：美国将护航11座世界杯举办城市

Drones and lone wolf attacks are key concerns as FBI works to secure 11 World Cup cities

2026-06-13T10:00:09.166Z / https://www.cnn.com/2026/06/13/politics/drones-lone-wolf-attacks-fbi-world-cup

• The 2026 World Cup begins across 11 US cities with millions of foreign fans expected.
• The FBI has trained 60 officers on counter-drone tactics.
• Key concerns for security officials include lone-wolf attacks and weaponized drones.

AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.

HUNTSVILLE, AL—

On Thursday, the first whistle blew, ushering in the largest sporting event the US has ever hosted — or secured.

Millions of foreign fans are expected to descend across the country for the World Cup, with the US hosting 78 matches across 11 cities and countless more fan hubs and related events peppered throughout the country.

The scale alone presents a challenge for local and federal law enforcement as they work to secure each game in what Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin has called a “zero-fail mission.”

They’ll have to contend with burgeoning threats stemming from ever-advancing drones and artificial intelligence alongside the incurable risk of lone wolf attacks — a recurring threat with effects that have already been felt in recent attacks in the US.

Andrew Giuliani — who was tapped to head the White House task force on the 2026 FIFA WorldCup — has said there is currently no known threat to the games.

The cup will be “truly the largest sporting event the world has ever hosted,” Giuliani told reporters during a recent security briefing in New York.

Separate federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and FBI, will take the lead on various security components in different cities, with DHS and its vast network of law enforcement and security agencies responsible for much of the coordination.

The threat of drones, easily purchased and modified to carry deadly payloads, is a key concern for security officials across the government.

The FBI, at their Alabama training facility in the Redstone Arsenal military base, have ushered 60 police officers in cities across the US through a new counter-drone program, teaching them how to locate and thwart drones violating airspace restrictions.

Conflicts abroad, however, continue to advance drone technology at a rapid clip, with Ukraine taking the lead on developing new technology around using and thwarting the deadly uncrewed aircrafts.

Iran and its terrorist proxy groups have also seen a huge amounts of success in using drones to disrupt the Strait of Hormuz and in targeting US and Israel assets in the region.

Huddled in a tight mobile command post in Huntsville, Alabama, local officers around the country have been trained by the FBI on how to — if possible — remotely shutoff drones as well as other intercepting tactics where such efforts may be impossible, like with fiber-optic drones that skirt around radio-frequency jamming and similar counter-drone efforts.

“Our security posture is largely invisible to the public,” Michael Torphy, assistant section chief of the Critical Incident Response Group who leads the counter-drone training program, told reporters during a recent demonstration of the FBI’s counter-drone efforts.

Torphy noted the FBI has “protected every Super Bowl since 2019” when it comes to drone incursions “and many, many other events.”

“We’ve done this before. We’re going to do it again,” Torphy said.

The type of drones used in military attacks are far less likely to be deployed inside the US but the threat of smaller drones — easily purchased online — being equipped with explosive or chemical payloads remains, law enforcement officials told CNN. Those drones, because they largely rely on radio frequencies and similar forms of communication, can be more easily jammed and removed from the no-fly zones.

“Unfortunately, people can do a lot of damage with some pretty basic technology,” John Villasenor, a senior fellow in governance studies and the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institute, told CNN when discussing the bevy of potential threats. “I think we’re helped by the fact that the fraction of people who would actually do this is tiny. It’s not zero though, that’s the challenge.”

DHS will handle most of the counter-drone efforts during the World Cup, with the FBI taking the lead in three of the 11 cities.

Local police forces are also stepping up their counter-drone technology, with the New York Police Department alone purchasing $6.5 million in drone-mitigation equipment in preparation for the World Cup, according to officials.

“It would be a mistake to ignore the technology as it exists and how it’s being used across the world” as weapons in the wars in Ukraine and Iran, NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters during a press conference in May.

Security for the World Cup will take a bottom-up approach, with local law enforcement responsible for most of the on-the-ground security while federal authorities help to fill the gaps.

Officials say the threat of a lone actor deciding to attack an event or crowds remains the top concern, as people can often plot attacks undetected.

Because of this, federal officials told CNN, some of the hardest work falls on local police tasked with large areas to patrol and secure on the ground.

Command posts will be set up across the country, allowing local and federal officers to communicate with one another on any threats that emerge during the 40 days of matches.

Beyond the threat of drones, terrorist and lone wolf attacks, officials are also wary of the fans themselves.

Following game 3 of the NBA finals in New York, and despite a large security presence, attendees were attacked by other fans after the Spurs upset the Knicks’ winning streak. Concern for that type of violence, not uncommon during global soccer matches, is top of mind for officers on the ground, law enforcement officials told CNN.

In a series of bulletins sent to law enforcement partners, officials have specifically warned about Iran’s presence in the tournament and how fans could react.

“Upset fans in the (Iranian) diaspora could cause clashes at the Fan Festival and other events taking place in the Los Angeles area of responsibility,” according to the joint FBI-DHS threat assessment. “If Iran does play, the threat of transnational repression on local members of the Iranian diaspora will be cause for concern.”

The bulletins also warned of “the potential for an increase in terrorist activity, reportable targeted violence, mass casualty incidents” as well as transnational crime, cyber-attacks and foreign intelligence efforts.

“These concerns stem from the emergence of several converging trends: intensified rhetoric from foreign terrorist organizations targeting large-scale events, heightened violence at mass protests within the Homeland, and escalating geopolitical tensions.”

Officials involved in the security planning say they are also concerned about artificial intelligence, specifically fake videos that could easily be made in an effort to cause panic among fans and attendees.

Beyond the US, Mexico — which is hosting five matches in three host cities including Mexico City — will deploy nearly 100,000 security personnel as the country continues to battle powerful cartels and rampant street-level crime.

“There are very large networks of piracy, human trafficking, prostitution, obviously drug dealing, and some extortion, but it’s also the area of the country with the highest per capita police presence and security cameras, which gives it a different crime profile,” Víctor Manuel Sánchez Valdés, a researcher at the Autonomous University of Coahuila, told CNN’s Michael Rios in May.

CNN’s Kara Scannell and Josh Campbell contributed to this report.