By now, just about everyone has heard of the coming 5G standard for mobile devices like phones and tablets. Interoperability and the coexistence of 5G in the enterprise space with existing WiFi technology has been a serious concern for some who fear 5G LTE will mark the end of WiFi as it encroaches on unlicensed spectrum. I don’t see it that way. For over a decade I’ve believed that the true mobility sweet spot will be realized when we have complete interoperability between cellular-based devices and WiFi. Allowing enterprises to offer 5G throughout their network on licensed spaces, owned and operated by the carriers, allows them to easily transition latency and security sensitive applications on and off of their networks. The interoperability of 5G and WiFi is not only convenient but necessary to provide adequate data backhaul for the increasing bandwidth demands of data-hungry end-users.

We received quite a few interesting looks at last year’s OctoberTekfest, when we unveiled the KegBot and Hack for Beer challenge. A couple of hours into the challenge, we developed a crowd of folks gathered around the booth. Some people came to watch and cheer on their friends, while others took notes with hopes of decreasing the amount of time it took to “Pwn Beer.” The most interesting thing that happened, at least from my perspective, was that all of the folks that came to the booth experienced all of the excitement and frustration associated with executing a hack to a networked system. Many folks took note that some of the methods used to hack the KegBot, leveraged vulnerabilities and configuration issues that could have been easily mitigated. Several conversations started that examined the ideas of: What if the firewall placement changed? or What if the admin’s workstation had been patched, or not left on or unlocked? This is the true value in the whole demonstration. The process forces us to think about the issues that allowed the hack to happen in the first place. The beauty of the demonstration is that it was conducted in a controlled environment, no real data was ever at risk, and we all learned a lot.

Twinkle, Twinkle, little star, How I wonder what you are! Up above the world so high, Like an Access Point providing Wi-Fi!

As technology continues to evolve and digital transformation enters full swing, competition for customers is growing increasingly fierce. An essential question for businesses has become, “How can technology improve customer experience and create additional value for my shareholders?” A great question, and to answer it let’s take a look at what one well-known company did to leapfrog their competition and launch themselves into the digital age.

According to Cisco’s Visual Networking Index, there will be 3.4 networked devices per capita by 2020. This represents 26.3 billion networked devices and nearly a 40% increase in just five years. To handle this flood of new devices, many companies today are utilizing the cloud to connect devices to the corporate network. Is it any surprise that cybersecurity has become one of the top priorities for businesses?

As I browse the aisles of Home Depot and Lowes, it’s quite impressive and, at the same time unsettling as an IT Security Professional to see the increasing amount of IoT (Internet of Things) devices being developed and offered to target the “Smart Home.”