Network Management, Network Security
Article | July 17, 2023
5G is a little higher at 3.4GHz to 3.6GHz, but that's tiny when you consider that microwaves go up to 300GHz. And visible light comes in at a range of around 430THz to 770THz. That's more than a thousand times higher than the maximum microwave – and 100,000 higher than 5G. Dangerous radiation, like UV rays, X-rays and gamma rays are also far higher up the spectrum still. Early theories suggested 5G could lead to cancer – and now crackpots have linked it to coronavirus too. But it's simply impossible for 5G to cause any of these problems. Radiation damages cells by breaking them apart, but 5G microwaves simply lack the power to do this. 5G is a low-frequency radiation, far below infrared and visible light.
In fact, it's essential that 5G is low-frequency, because higher frequencies are less useful at delivering mobile signals over large areas. We know that this level of radiation is safe, because otherwise the visible light from our televisions would have killed us a long time ago.
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Enterprise Mobility
Article | June 15, 2023
Telecommunications conglomerate Verizon has partnered with 3D development platform Unity to create entertainment applications and enterprise toolkits that can render 3D environments almost instantaneously, without the need for expensive hardware.
In a press release, Verizon said products from this collaboration will address the demand for instantaneous content in industries such as gaming, retail, and sports, where emphasis is placed on real-time digital immersion.
“We are entering an era of technology-led disruption where 5G and MEC will not only transform the full enterprise lifecycle, it will change the way consumers experience gaming and entertainment,” said Verizon Chief Executive Officer Tami Erwin.
These products will utilise 5G and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) technology, taking the best of both worlds to enhance the digital experience for consumers.
The concept of edge computing has actually been around for roughly three decades, but it wasn't until recently that we've been able to apply it to Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Edge architecture reduces latency by moving computer services closer to the source — the "edges" — of the data. This not only decongests the centralised cloud of information, but also decreases the distance the data needs to cover to reach user terminals.
Meanwhile, 5G is the highly anticipated next generation broadband network that promises to deliver high speeds with just millisecond latencies. Despite the pandemic, its rollout hasn’t slowed down at all, with countries like China, South Korea, and the US getting a first taste of the technology.
The promise of lightning-fast connections, however, comes at a steep cost: 5G stations consume plenty of energy to work.
Though much of 5G's advantages come from its streamlined digital routing capabilities, it's also underpinned by a powerful network of hardware components — more precisely, printed circuit boards (PCBs). To answer the demand for more energy, engineers use ties to meet PCB requirements for solving the challenges that come with powering a standard board. These include considerations like signal paths and planar delays, among others. Placing the net ties at the right junctions distributes energy more evenly, thus providing efficient power delivery to 5G networks.
Despite all the touted capabilities of 5G, experts have flagged cybersecurity as one major concern. As a new innovation, 5G is still fairly unregulated, leaving loopholes and security gaps that cyber criminals can exploit. For instance, the expansion of bandwidth coverage actually opens up vulnerabilities and additional avenues for cyber attacks. Furthermore, the hyper connected nature of IoT devices makes it easier for hackers to gain access to different networks, both private and public; and unwitting users can potentially expose their contacts to virtual attackers.
Because of these threats, experts urge telecom companies to lay down a solid bedrock for 5G security before finalising the pivot towards it. For now, it remains to be seen how legislators and regulators will implement standards to guide the public in its use of 5G.
Amid this concern, Verizon and Unity are hopeful that their collaboration — and the marriage of 5G and MEC technology — will be a game changer in the gaming, retail, and entertainment industries.
“We know the world is demanding high-speed, AAA content, whether it’s an educational augmented reality application or a robot running a simulation of a digital twin,” Unity Vice President for Solutions Ryan Peterson said.
“5G is the key piece for us to facilitate these real-time 3D experiences broadly and to better meet the demands of the real-time economy.”
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Wireless, 5G
Article | May 18, 2023
Antennas are fundamental to the performance of connected devices, but are often implemented as an afterthought, resulting not only in sub-optimal performance, but also in less-than-ideal form factor. It can also have a negative impact on cost for the device as a whole. It is therefore essential that organisations prioritise antenna design as part of a holistic device design philosophy – bear in mind that it is practically impossible to fix bad antenna design. Early decisions need to be made regarding the relative merits of embedded or external devices and then attention can turn to optimising antenna integration.
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Network Security
Article | October 27, 2021
Digital liberation has opened up several avenues for businesses. The current scenario is a bright example of how a remote or hybrid work model seamlessly became a norm, establishing digital workspaces, including laptops and PCs.
But this has also led companies to deal with a lot of challenges in managing their enterprise mobility.
Whether it is the security or Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) to the user experience or migration, Mobile Device Management (MDM) plays a significant role in digital transformation.
PROTECTION VS. PRIVACY: THE PROBLEM WITH (MDM) – INTRODUCTION
Mobile device management pertains to software solutions and reliable practices that enable companies to easily manage and obtain wide-ranging mobile devices in compliance with corporate guidelines.
In addition, the MDM functionality addresses the security of devices and data, management of devices, and configurations.
Essentially, MDM as security is an element of an enterprise mobility management solution that integrates a clustered set of tools to secure and manage mobile apps, BYOD devices, content data and access, configurations, risk management, software updates, and application management.
MDM allows a single-interface control over all connecting devices, enabling each device registered for corporate use through the MDM software to be easily monitored, managed, and controlled as per organizational policies.
“It’s clear that our network is better protected. We have solved our BYOD issues and can rely on great support via e-mail, phone, or Skype.”
- Raymond Bernaert, IT Administrator at ROC Kop van Noord, the Netherlands
However, when it comes to an understanding, this technology is of utmost importance to consider the key challenges that companies face regarding protection vs. privacy of mobile device management.
Key Challenges
MDM solutions are built to improve visibility and secure better control into an end user’s mobile device activity. However, unrestrained tracking of the device’s activities poses a huge threat to the end user’s privacy.
For instance, the mobile device management solution may track real-time location and browsing detail. The information exposes employees’ data and usage habits beyond the employer’s device management and security needs.
Moreover, as the mobile device market expands, employees choose devices from various brands and platforms, which companies extend support and manage; nevertheless, unanticipated security issues with a specific platform and software version could emerge at any point. Thus, executing the entire process without compromising the end-user convenience.
Now, let’s check out some of the most common mobile device management challenges.
Security
Using numerous devices and endpoints could potentially increase the risk of hacking. This is because, for hackers, it would be a lot easier to exploit the endpoints.
And, no wonder mobile device security is one of the fastest-growing concepts in the cybersecurity landscape today.
Incorporating mobile devices under the umbrella of mobile device management would be helpful to bridge the vulnerable gaps and prove to firmly manage the entire digital fleet, including mobile phones and PCs. In addition, this will increase up-time significantly and containerize the personal data from corporate data.
The Privacy Issue
Though MDM solution helps organizations obviate data breaches, they also open up doubt and questions regarding employee privacy. This is because various MDM tools allow employers to monitor the entire device’s activities, including personal phone calls and web activity, at any point.
Subsequently, this empowers the IT team to command control in corporate security, whereby they perform many such remote actions, which harm the employees’ privacy.
Organizations over the years have used mobile device management solutions with the intent to put BYOD in place. When an enterprise enables BYOD, employees use their devices to access data to help achieve the tasks.
With the intent to secure the endpoints, companies choose MDM as their key solution and take control over the entire mobile device, but with that comes the potential for abuse. So, naturally, there is an unwillingness among employees to get MDM installed on their devices.
Network Access Control (NAC)
The sudden surge in digital workspace culture has also brought in additional complications with varied mobile devices.
It is crucial to ensure the team has access to all the apps and corporate data they need. However, it is also important to note that there should be a check on direct access to the data center.
One of the core elements for enterprise mobility is network access control (NAC). NAC scrutinizes devices wanting to access your network and it carefully enables and disables native device capabilities distinctly.
With designated devices getting connected to the network as per resource, role, and location, it is relatively easy for NAC to ascertain their access level based upon the pre-configured concepts.
User Experience
It is essential to consider the end-user experience while managing mobility as it often becomes a big challenge. Therefore, a successful mobile device management structure lies mainly in creating a satisfying user experience.
A company that uses various devices and has extensive BYOD users may find VMware Workspace ONE or MobileIron effective.
However, if the enterprise is all Apple iPhones, the ideal enterprise mobility management would be Jamf Pro, an Apple-only EMM.
A single sign would be a perfect method to get into the virtual desktop to ensure efficiency for the remote workers. Moreover, it won’t ask you to sign into different applications separately.
Sturdy enterprise mobile device management is an absolute necessity to have a hassle-free experience.
Let’s cite the example of this case study, where ‘The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate’ (S&T) initiated the Next Generation First Responder (NGFR) Apex program to assist tomorrow’s first responder in becoming protected, connected and aware.
DHS S&T held a series of NGFR Integration Demonstrations to incrementally test and assess interoperable technologies presently at the development stage.
These demonstrations have changed from tabletop integration to field exercises with partner public safety agencies incorporating increasingly complex technology.
The NGFR- Harris County OpEx included 23 varied DHS and industry-provided technologies involving six Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, five situational awareness applications and platforms and live-stream video feeds.
Additionally, Opex technologies also integrated body-worn cameras and real-time data aggregation and access across numerous agencies.
In a nutshell, this case study identifies and explains the mobile device management (MDM) solutions that provided an application-level cybersecurity evaluation and remote device management. The Opex addresses how nationwide public safety agencies could utilize MDM to enhance the operational deployment of new devices and applications.
Final Words
There are surely both pros and cons involved in mobile device management.
Over the years, the BYOD program has turned out to become a norm in corporate culture. In addition, the use of personal devices has significantly surged due to the gradual increase in remote and hybrid work models. Thus, many believe that the MDM solution is naturally aligned with BYOD.
However, the fact is, a perfectly planned BYOD policy is the only way to ensure clarity. Having no policy in place will expose a firm to the so-called ‘Shadow IT’ as users will circumvent the IT infrastructure working from their mobile devices.
Though the breach of privacy is likely, the policy can be tailored based on the company’s needs. The IT security is adequately maintained and protected and strikes a balance between protections vs. privacy in mobile device management.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can mobile device management do?
Mobile device management keeps business data safe and protected and secures control over confidential information. MDM also exercises its power to lock and remove all data. This is the capability that sustains the device’s security.
What are different mobile management tools?
With the introduction of Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), several enterprise mobility management tools have also been inducted into MDM.
To name a few, some of the prominent MDM tools are Miradore, Citrix Endpoint Management, and SOTI Mobicontrol.
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