The “always on” nature of business — with an increasingly mobile workforce, the Internet of Things and the ability to engage customers around the clock — demands 100 percent uptime. If IT systems aren’t performing optimally, productivity and customer service suffer.

Products featuring the latest version of the Wi-Fi security suite will soon be hitting the market. Devices that support the new Wi-Fi Protected Access 3 (WPA3) protocols will feature significant security upgrades, including stronger password protection, more robust authentication, and increased cryptographic strength for both public and private Wi-Fi networks.

The traditional username-and-password for authentication is a prime example of how organizations are making a hacker’s job much easier than it should be. It’s not just about people using weak passwords or the same passwords for multiple accounts, and it’s not just about companies failing to enforce password best practices.

People tend to think of identity theft as a consumer problem, but it’s a business problem, too. Businesses are more attractive targets, not only because they have more money and higher credit limits, but because vital information that’s required to be public can easily be stolen and exploited.

In the previous post, we discussed why Wi-Fi analytics is such a valuable business tool, especially in the hospitality and retail sectors. Wi-Fi networks offer a wealth of data that can provide insights into customer behavior and preferences, allowing organizations to improve marketing and promotional strategies and optimize operations.

Reliable guest Wi-Fi has become a standard expectation for people visiting retail stores, hotels, restaurants, banks, office buildings and other commercial spaces. Customers expect to be able to research products, read reviews and share information. Guest Wi-Fi also creates opportunities for organizations to communicate with customers and deliver personalized offers.

Windows 10 was introduced three years ago and Microsoft has been heavily promoting the product ever since. Yet more people with Windows PCs are using Windows 7 (47.3 percent) than Windows 10 (39.3 percent). In fact, Windows 7 actually gained market share in March and April of 2018!

Why can’t people quit Windows 7? Some might still be haunted by the disappointment of Windows 8 and are hesitant to upgrade.

The city of Atlanta is still feeling the effects of a March ransomware attack that disrupted city government operations for days. News reports indicate that the city has already spent more than $2 million cleaning up from the “SamSam” virus attack, and city officials have estimated that they may need another $10 million over the next year.

It’s not uncommon for organizations to provide business partners and vendors with access to IT systems and data. In some cases, a partner could be storing the other organization’s sensitive data. The assumption is that the third party will act responsibly, but that’s far from guaranteed.

There was a time when a “Great Wall of China” approach to IT security was sufficient. Just focus your resources at the network perimeter to keep invaders out. As long as nobody leaves the kingdom, you’re good to go. Unfortunately, IT resources have jumped the wall, so to speak, thanks to the cloud and mobile.