Joe Fizor, TBI Lead Solutions Engineer and Tech Guru

How will 5G impact enterprise mobility in 2021? 

5G will be a source of additional redundancy and diversity to company networks, providing much higher bandwidth and throughput. From a mobile perspective, 5G will allow several variations that need to be considered, such as 5G narrowband which will be great for IoT devices. End users looking for high performance and the ability to work remotely will need to focus on the wideband offerings which will have the higher speeds, low latency and high-capacity consumers have come to expect when hearing 5G. 

How will remote work evolve in the coming year? How can businesses prepare for that change?  

As many businesses continue to have an ongoing, larger remote workforce, we will see businesses running a cost analysis of price per square foot of office space versus the price of SD-WAN and/or business grade connections to remote users. Security has to be at the forefront too – we are no longer protected by the four walls of the office, but rather facing a diverse set of users on known and unknown devices. Focusing on Zero-Trust security architectures will continue to be critical. With the introduction of SASE as a newer framework, we will continue to see providers push identity access management (IAM), single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication (MFA), etc. to secure remote users. Additionally, as we continue the shift to remote work, businesses will need to balance their approach to gaining visibility into users/applications while not overstepping and straining their users through micro-management. The ability to enact “big brother” roles may prove too tempting for many. Unfortunately, we may not like it as end users, but visibility and analytics will continue to grow and be a top priority. 

Growth in 5G mobility requires greater security measures in parallel. What can a company do from now?  

Though mobility security is difficult, we cannot rely on the expensive firewall deployed on the edge of the network, sitting in the office that no one has entered in 9 months. Businesses need to understand the options regarding mobile device management (MDM), endpoint security, identity access management (IAM), and single sign-on (SSO)/Multi-factor authentication (MFA). Through MDM, companies can secure and remotely wipe devices if lost or stolen, push applications to ensure users have the tools they need, setup containers for business applications if the device is personal and go as far as expense management. This will help secure devices, but companies can go further with IAM and endpoint security to limit access based on location, device type, time of day, etc. Also, keep in mind that the security measures everyone needs to consider with 5G are no different from 4G LTE. Now there is more speed, more capacity, and more damage that could be done through malicious attacks. For example, DDoS attacks can – and have – stemmed from IoT devices. So, if you consider the high performance increases we will see with 5G, now with far greater bandwidth, many could be setting themselves up to witness some truly gigantic attacks.  

When training/retraining a remote team (in preparation for 2021), what should be at the top of the agenda?  

Top of the agenda for training should be discussing and reviewing business approved tools, applications as well as devices, along with security awareness training. If the business does not approve of a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy, then that needs reinforcement. Remote users can lead to nightmare scenarios for IT professionals and implementing policies to minimize attack vectors is critical. Communicating this to remote teams is just as critical, and educating them on how to stop phishing attacks, best practices when sharing information, keeping devices updated, and leveraging strong passwords will help strengthen every companies’ security posture. 

What challenges/risks are the remote workforce likely to face in the coming year? How to mitigate these risks? 

The remote workforce overall is an easy target for many attackers. Businesses and their employees need to be on the lookout for fraudulent emails and increased phishing attacks. Unsecure Wi-Fi connections can lead to man in the middle attacks, connectivity issues, and unknown third-party applications. The best advice I can give is to stay diligent. Check who is sending emails/attachments. If a request seems strange. . . pick up the phone and call to confirm the request. It really boils down to the same security framework we use on the network – Zero Trust. Assume nothing is safe and use caution in all aspects of work and personal life.