The advent of #WFH has led to renewed focus on Wi-Fi security, for good reason. While most organizations have taken care to ensure their employees who are suddenly working remotely are coming into the company network through secure connections, there are still risks the presence of home Wi-Fi can bring.
We spoke with law professor and internet and technology attorney, Andrew Rossow, who has combined his passion for technology and advocation for privacy and shared it with millennials across the globe.
“Now is the time to adopt good digital hygiene practices,” Rossow emphasized. “With the entire world now flocking to digital, we need to be cognizant of the very real threats we now face—and it starts by ensuring you are staying secure at home. Staying vigilant and looking at companies, established and emerging, who are looking to provide security solutions in 2020 will help keep you adept.”
Rossow, an upper-level cybersecurity professor at The University of Dayton School of Law, educates students about the importance of maintaining good digital hygiene practices, as it’s never a matter of “if” something happens—but when.
With security companies standing tall during the COVID-19 pandemic, companies need to find new ways to “stand out”—and that’s what caught our attention about Guard Dog Solutions (GDS), an AI-driven Wi-Fi security solution which continues to be validated in hospitality and public Wi-Fi solutions. With nearly 5 years validation in hospitality and public Wi-Fi locations, the company is premiering its technology to the cybersecurity industry in preparation for the June 22 InfoSec 2020 event, according to a recent interview with CBS Channel 2 in Salt Lake City, Utah.
The company is now premiering a solution that makes Wi-Fi much safer. GDS is the brainchild of serial entrepreneur and technologist Peter Bookman, the company’s CTO and CMO.
For the first time, the solution incorporates artificial intelligence to automatically recognize the patterns of attempted hacks on a network, such as repeated password attempts or suspicious or malicious surveillance behaviors. The hardware/software solution takes countermeasures to block and eliminate the threat before exploits (such as phishing, ransomware and malware) can occur.
Without this level of response, even the strongest systems can only report the hacking attempts. Guard Dog, in contrast, can stop the activities dead in their tracks.
Modern society relies on Wi-Fi so heavily that 71 percent consider it a deciding factor in where to stay when traveling and 49% consider a strong signal vital to their ability to get around via Maps, Google Maps or other GPS apps, according to Norton/Symantic research.
Alarmingly, 60 percent believe their data is safe, and a full 87 percent have engaged in activities on Wi-Fi that have put their private information at risk.
As examples of the problem this creates, GDS’s CEO Bill Flury points to the vulnerable home “electronic security” industry represented by products such as the Ring, video ports on Smart TVs and security cameras on homes and computers – all solutions that are seeing increasing demand as so many additional U.S. employees are working from home. These devices are particularly vulnerable as an entry point that allows hackers to breach unprotected Wi-Fi in homes and businesses that can result in ransomware, phishing, identity theft, hacking, scamming, computer viruses and malware, botnets and DDoS attacks.
This technology is especially important as businesses move increasingly more work to homes and remote locations as a part of the Social Distancing measures most states are requiring, to prevent exposure to COVID-19.
The technology is available now and is being rolled out in its first phases through ISPs and MSSPs. The company anticipates joint ventures with providers of smart home security and direct to consumer offerings before the close of the year.
