I’m pleased to report that Cisco was named Industrial IoT Company of the Year 2025 in the IoT Breakthrough Awards Program. Since 2017, IoT Breakthrough has made annual awards to industrial IoT companies and products based on quality, unique technology, and market leadership. I would like to thank our customers, partners, and the entire Cisco industrial IoT team for making this award possible.

“Most people know Cisco for their enterprise networking products, but for over 20 years, Cisco has been instrumental in making enterprise technologies decisive for digitizing industrial operations.”

– Steve Johansson, Managing Director at IoT Breakthrough

In this blog I’ll summarize the reasons why the evaluation committee awarded Cisco top honors as Industrial IoT Company of the Year. Our solutions enable our customers to protect their operations and lay a robust foundation for AI, all with seamless IT-OT collaboration and validated designs built in partnerships with leading industrial automation companies.

“The same robust security as the enterprise”

In the award announcement, IoT Breakthrough emphasizes Cisco innovations in industrial cybersecurity and AI readiness, which it terms paramount concerns for industrial operations. The announcement says, “Designed specifically for industrial needs, Cisco’s switches, routers, and wireless equipment share a common foundation with their enterprise counterparts… A shared operating system, management platform, and security measures facilitate collaboration between IT and OT teams.” As shown in the figure, Cisco industrial networking solutions come with built-in visibility, segmentation, zero-trust remote access, and the threat intelligence needed for effective incident response. A case study: Brazil’s CPFL Energia uses Cisco solutions to automatically detect and profile OT assets in substations and identify vulnerabilities and anomalies.

Figure 1: Visibility, segmentation, and secure remote access are built into Cisco network fabric

Johansson from IoT Breakthrough says, “By enabling IT best practices in OT, Cisco has freed industrial networks to scale and be flexible, while enjoying the same robust security as the enterprise.”

“The power of AI/ML”

I meet regularly with leading industrial companies, many of them already using AI to modernize operations—for instance, for predictive maintenance, manufacturing anomaly detection, robotics and autonomous vehicles, supply chain optimization, and more. For example, Audi uses Cisco solutions for virtual reality prototypes and predictive maintenance. Argos Cement uses AI to analyze historical data and build digital twins and predictive models to maintain quality, reduce energy consumption, and increase throughput.

AI applications like these place high demands on the network. Think of the network as the nervous system connecting the brains in the data center to the industrial IoT assets in plants and in the field. In the award announcement, IoT Breakthrough states, “Cisco’s industrial solutions empower industries to leverage the power of AI/ML to drive innovation to meet current and future needs. The network’s high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity between OT and IT domains transports large volumes of data generated by sensors, machines, controllers, and other devices to analytical applications in datacenters and the cloud.”

“Validated design guides that are blueprints”

Besides our technology, IoT Breakthrough also calls out Cisco for “publishing validated design guides that are blueprints for successful networking and security deployments… that achieve business objectives.” We provide more than 80 Cisco Validated Designs and architectures for industries including manufacturing, power and water utilities, oil and gas, mining, ports and terminals, roadways and intersections, and public transportation. My colleague Keith Higgins, Director of Product Marketing at Cisco, adds that “Validated designs improve IT/OT collaboration, which helps to reduce risk, increase operational efficiency, and accelerate implementation.”

Industrial companies also benefit from our partnerships and joint designs with Rockwell Automation®, Schneider Electric®, and CODESYS. Integration with Splunk gives OT teams the observability that’s needed for digital resilience.

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Today’s colleges and universities are facing unprecedented challenges. With changing student demographics, rising tuition costs, new learning models, and rising student expectations, institutions are rethinking the way they engage students, support faculty, and help staff stay productive.

Fortunately, higher education has long been a springboard for innovation, and today’s campuses are carrying on that tradition. One trend that is top of mind in education is the transformation of student interactions and administrative processes through technology. Although most institutions have long understood the value of learning, many have yet to fully integrate new digital capabilities in campus environments.

According to the Inside Higher Ed 2024 Survey of Campus Chief Technology/Information Officers, almost two in three (61%) personally believe that the digital transformation (Dx) of their institution is essential or at least a high priority. However, only a third (35%) say their institution has set specific goals for digital transformation.

Transforming education and the campus experience

Dx initiatives are strategic in nature, going beyond simply making hybrid, remote, or online learning available to students. At its best, Dx is truly transformative in nature. It’s all about applying technology to deliver a delightful, personalized campus experience. This experience smoothly goes wherever students go, from classrooms and administrative offices to research labs and dorms. Dx also focuses on collecting and intelligently applying data to processes, empowering administrators to make more informed decisions more quickly.

Transformation isn’t only about using better technology but also thinking about it differently. It’s about refocusing technology on performing manual, repetitive tasks that take your faculty and staff away from more important priorities. By offloading menial jobs to technology, you give your team more time to make a bigger impact and think more strategically. It’s the brains behind the notifications that give students, faculty and staff more attention and make them feel more appreciated.

Is your institution keeping pace?

Big changes are happening at institutions worldwide as they focus on achieving Dx by creating a more cohesive digital universe through the cloud, learning management systems (LMS), and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. By modernizing and bringing together disparate elements of their digital infrastructure, colleges and universities can become more efficient and better engage students, faculty, and staff.

At the heart of these ambitious Dx plans is a robust, reliable wireless network. In a world where teaching, learning, and research happen everywhere, high-performance, always-on Wi-Fi^® technology is fundamental to enable network software to accurately collect data, help students feel comfortable, and supporting a diverse array of internet of things (IoT) devices.

Unlocking real education outcomes with RUCKUS

RUCKUS Networks understands the importance of campus connectivity, and we’ve demonstrated our ability to empower colleges and universities to create and maintain purpose-driven networks. From small private colleges to large state-run universities, we offer robust network solutions that create a stable foundation for Dx. With exclusive patented solutions such as BeamFlex^® and ChannelFly^® technology, RUCKUS^® Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 solutions consistently outperform in high-density, high-capacity environments.

For example, Butler University partnered with RUCKUS to refresh and future-proof its aging wired and Wi-Fi network. Based in Indiana, this small private university now delivers dependable connectivity across 300 acres, with faster speeds, more bandwidth, and easy onboarding. With its rapid deployment and simple management and maintenance, the solution has dramatically reduced CapEx and OpEx, saving the institution $1 million.

RUCKUS also helped Penn State modernize its network. Its new infrastructure supports 300 buildings on the University Park campus and 170 buildings across the state, while providing flexibility to grow with the university’s future needs. The institution has reduced power consumption in its buildings, minimized its carbon footprint, and saved millions of dollars.

Digital transformation is just one of several trends that are changing the face of higher education. Institutions are also exploring new innovative ways to make data-based decisions, streamline productivity, entrust technology to take on more responsibilities and enrich the campus experience.

To learn more about what lies on the horizon—and proactively plan for it—read our new eBook, “2025 Top 5 Trends for Higher Education.”

Austin, TX, and Washington, D.C. – February 13, 2025 – Wi-Fi Alliance^® welcomes and strongly supports UK Ofcom’s newly released consultation on expanding access to the 6 GHz band for commercial mobile, and Wi-Fi^® services. This proposal represents a significant step forward in ensuring the UK remains at the forefront of wireless innovation and connectivity.

By considering an expansion of Wi-Fi access in the upper 6 GHz band, Ofcom acknowledges the critical role that Wi-Fi plays in delivering high-performance, next-generation connectivity for consumers, businesses, and industries across the UK. The 6 GHz band is essential for enabling cutting-edge applications – even in high-density enterprise environments – such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), immersive reality, telemedicine, and smart manufacturing.

“Wi-Fi Alliance commends Ofcom’s leadership in recognizing the immense benefits of 6 GHz Wi-Fi,” said Alex Roytblat, Vice President of Worldwide Regulatory Affairs at Wi-Fi Alliance. “This proposal underscores the UK’s commitment to fostering digital innovation and ensuring that Wi-Fi remains a cornerstone of connectivity, supporting economic growth and technological advancement.”

Expanding Wi-Fi access in the 6 GHz band will enable delivery of high-performance, low latency, reliable Wi-Fi connectivity to help alleviate congestion and enhance broadband performance. The expansion will also ensure that UK consumers and enterprises can fully leverage the latest Wi-Fi technologies, including Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7.

Wi-Fi Alliance looks forward to engaging with Ofcom throughout the consultation process and collaborating with stakeholders to ensure that the UK’s spectrum policy supports an open, competitive, and innovation-driven wireless ecosystem.

About Wi-Fi Alliance^®  |  www.wi-fi.org
Wi-Fi Alliance^® is the worldwide network of companies that brings you Wi-Fi^®. Members of our collaboration forum come together from across the Wi-Fi ecosystem with the shared vision to connect everyone and everything, everywhere, while providing the best possible user experience. Since 2000, Wi-Fi Alliance has completed more than 80,000 Wi-Fi certifications. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED™ seal of approval designates products with proven interoperability, backward compatibility, and the highest industry-standard security protections in place. Today, Wi-Fi carries more than half of the Internet’s traffic in an ever-expanding variety of applications. Wi-Fi Alliance continues to drive the adoption and evolution of Wi-Fi, which billions of people rely on every day.

Wi-Fi 8, officially known as the IEEE 802.11bn standard, builds on Wi-Fi 7’s advancements to deliver the next leap in connectivity. Our video series, 3 for 3, provides 3 answers for 3 pressing questions about trends in wireless test. In the latest video, LitePoint’s Khushboo Kalyani takes a high-level look at Wi-Fi 8. Watch now to explore what it is, what are some key features its targeting and how it will impact future applications.

VIDEO

As we move into 2025, SMBs and service providers will likely face network infrastructure challenges resulting from adopting advanced applications and a shift in work processes that drive the requirement for more bandwidth, faster speeds, and increased reliability. Meeting and exceeding those ever-increasing network performance expectations while managing increasingly tight budgets will require a robust, future-proof infrastructure to eliminate network bottlenecks and maximize productivity.

Cloud-based Services will Drive Demand for Bandwidth and Speed

The demand for increased bandwidth and faster internet speeds in the SMB segment is largely being driven by the shift to cloud-based services and the adoption of 2.5G and 5G services to support bandwidth-intensive applications such as video streaming and transfer of large files.

To support their customers’ increased bandwidth and speed demands, ISPs will need to increase their core networks and offerings to deliver speeds beyond 10G to their customers. A high-speed switch to be released by Zyxel Networks this year will enable metro and rural connectivity over fiber at 2.5G, 5G, 10G, and 25G speeds to stay ahead of cable modem services and 5G type service providers.

Faster Network Speeds will Require High-Performance Security Solutions

As internet speeds surpass 1G to 2.5G, 5G, and 10G, in support of the adoption of cloud and remote work applications by SMBs, enhanced security firewalls will be required to maintain full security for the network. As internet speeds increase, the volume of data increases and security devices need to process this data at high speed to eliminate a data bottleneck. In this high-speed environment, a high-performance network security device is required to provide real-time threat detection, minimize latency, and support advanced technologies like cloud computing, IoT, and AI.

Zyxel H-series family of firewalls provides SMBs and solution providers with robust network protection solutions to support a variety of business sizes ranging from small offices of 25 users up to hundreds of users. These firewalls enable businesses to increase network speed and productivity and deliver robust network security while keeping costs down.

WiFi 7 Fixed Wireless Solutions will Enable Critical Communications in Congested Urban Environments

2.4GHz and 5GHz public WiFi networks in highly populated urban and suburban areas can become easily overwhelmed by the sheer number of connected devices accessing the network. This can become particularly problematic when natural disasters, such as flooding, tornadoes, severe storms, and wildfires, impact highly populated urban and suburban areas, making network use difficult or impossible for emergency responders and residents. WiFi 7 fixed wireless solutions deliver the bandwidth and speeds that can provide life-saving connectivity that increases the efficiency of rescue and recovery efforts.

Designed to provide higher density and performance in congested urban environments, the WiFi 7 6GHz band delivers 5x faster speeds than WiFi 6 and WiFi 6E and provides more than double the bandwidth of 2.4GHz and 5GHz combined. The ability to support more devices with consistently high speeds will make WiFi 7 fixed wireless solutions invaluable in congested urban environments and in the event of surge connectivity.

Cybersecurity firm shows spikes in malicious traffic leading up to and during high-profile sporting events

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Feb. 12, 2025 – DNSFilter today released information gathered through its DNS content filtering platform regarding gambling traffic, both malicious and legitimate, in the lead up to Super Bowl LIX. The data showcases key threats during the NFL playoff season, particularly in January during the NFL playoffs, where unsanctioned streaming and gambling activities increased.

On the day of the Super Bowl, DNSFilter blocked 57% more malicious content related to gambling and betting compared to the rest of the NFL post-season. Previous high spikes to these malicious betting sites coincided with Super Bowl LVIII and 2024 March Madness.

Since sports betting is now legal in a majority of US states, overall traffic to DNSFilter’s gambling category has increased over the last year. Compared to the same timeframe last February, daily traffic to all gambling sites has increased 71%, surpassing DNSFilter’s overall network growth of 16%.

Other key statistics and insights from DNSFilter’s research, focusing on online threats leading up to the 2025 Super Bowl, include:

Streaming Media and Malware:

• A 15% increase in illegal streaming and torrenting traffic related to fake streaming sites during championship weekend compared to the previous average held between May and December 2024, indicating an escalating risk of security issues tied to streaming during major NFL events. This week had the highest traffic to illegal streaming sites ever on the DNSFilter network. Unauthorized streaming is a common risk factor for organizations, especially with unmanaged devices accessing potentially harmful content.

Threats by Domain:

• Domains related to the NFL have been seeing increased security threats, with spikes in malicious activity associated with streaming sites, gambling and possibly phishing attacks targeting Super Bowl fans or bettors.
• Threat domains with “football” in the domain name surged in January, with spikes on January 14, the day after Super Wild Card Weekend, and Super Bowl Sunday.

Fake Betting Site Trends:

• A significant 20% of malicious gambling domains identified during the NFL playoffs used a string of numbers in their names, a common tactic for “mirror” sites that attempt to evade detection. If you’re unsure of the legitimacy of a gambling site, this is an indicator that it may be a scam.
• Most malicious domains related to betting were categorized as malware, while most traffic came from newly registered domains.
• A site with a captcha does not necessarily mean it is safe. Some malicious sites will show a captcha before entering because the host is suspicious of the site, but has not taken it down. DNSFilter encountered a handful of fake betting sites with Captchas during this investigation.

TK Keanini, CTO, DNSFilter, said: “Our technology prevents access to unwanted content by identifying and categorizing threats and harmful sites before a connection is made. With real-time insights into evolving tactics, we’re committed to staying a step ahead, safeguarding users from threats tied to high-profile events like the Super Bowl. By continuously educating and protecting users, we can help foster a safer online environment during sporting events and beyond.”

About the company:

DNSFilter is redefining how organizations secure their largest threat vector: the Internet itself. DNSFilter is making the Internet safer and workplaces more productive by blocking threats at the DNS layer. DNSFilter resolves upwards of 170 billion daily queries. With 79% of attacks using Domain Name System (DNS), DNSFilter provides the world’s fastest protective DNS powered by AI, blocking threats an average of 10 days faster than traditional threat feeds. Over 35 million users trust DNSFilter to protect them from phishing, malware, and advanced cyber threats.