The Internet of Things holds incredible promise, from the cost savings afforded by facilities management sensors to the data-rich insights organizations can glean from connected devices. Even better, we’ve barely scratched the surface of what a mature, sophisticated IoT landscape will eventually look like.

But these advances often come with a risk — for now, anyway. Security has been a significant challenge for IoT devices, and we’ve already seen plenty of unfortunate cases where hackers have used connected devices to gain unauthorized network access.

Consider a food manufacturing environment, where a connected thermometer monitors temperatures in pipes or storage containers and communicates with the Wi-Fi network so it can send that data to a database. If the device is not properly secured, a hacker could interrogate the thermometer to discover credentials that enable access to the network, or even to upload instructions that would leverage the thermometer to deliver a virus.

Organizations could use blockchain to close these vulnerabilities, adding a layer of security to make IoT devices less susceptible to exploitation.

Before joining CDW, I served as the director of curriculum and innovation for a large school district in Texas. In that role, I witnessed the creativity and dedication of teachers firsthand. I often traveled with those educators to conferences where we learned together about exciting new technologies that could transform the classroom experience. When we arrived back at work on Monday, we were often disappointed to learn that the networking or security teams wouldn’t allow us to use our new favorite tool in the classroom due to privacy issues.

Back then, I had a hard time understanding the rationale behind those decisions. I felt like the “Department of No” was simply getting in the way of the real work of the district. Today, that experience helps me understand both sides of the equation as I work with CDW clients to develop their security programs.

I know that teachers are only trying to do what is best for their students, but they often don’t understand that they might be putting children in jeopardy if they’re not using safe, vetted applications in the classroom. That’s why I helped develop the K-12 Blueprint for Security toolkit, to better educate administrators, teachers, students and parents about privacy and security risks.

As organizations across the country have moved to remote work models, many have reported an increase in cyberattacks. Cybercriminals, it seems, are taking advantage of the public health crisis to exploit security vulnerabilities in home-based computer systems. What can organizations do to minimize the chances that their shift to remote work results in an expensive breach? We recommend a multipronged approach that combines the use of security tools and end-user education.

As they seek to enable remote work, many organizations are implementing new ways for employees to access and share data. This is all necessary to enable business continuity, but it’s possible (and perhaps even probable) that organizations are unwittingly opening up new security vulnerabilities as they introduce new technologies and workflows. Unless an IT shop employs professionals with deep expertise in cybersecurity, the prospect of hunting around for unknown security gaps can be incredibly daunting. That’s where cybersecurity assessments from a partner like CDW come in.

The election infrastructure in the U.S. depends on the coordinated, secure interaction of thousands of state and local election officials using very different technologies. These range from large cities with fully electronic voting systems to small municipalities that still rely on paper ballots. As I work with officials from these diverse election authorities, I’ve developed a set of best practices that will enhance security in any election environment. Let’s take a look at five key measures that every Board of Elections should put in place.

As countless organizations have raced to shift their employees to a remote work model using solutions such as videoconferencing tools, many have learned an unfortunate lesson about their user devices: throttled by their hard drives, they often struggle to keep up with the demands of latency-sensitive workloads. Fortunately, there’s a simple — and relatively inexpensive — fix. Solid-state drives (SSDs) can not only provide drastic improvements to performance, but also offer a boost to security and durability.