Ryan Orsi

If you’re not already familiar, “Get to Know Your Customer Day” is observed annually on the third Thursday of each quarter. It’s an opportunity to reach out to your business’s patrons and get to know them a little better. To mark this week’s celebration, we’ve done just that!

As a 100 percent channel-focused company, WatchGuard’s entire business is structured to support and enable VARs and MSSPs. Our channel partners are our customers. From network security and intelligence to… Show more

If you’re not already familiar, “Get to Know Your Customer Day” is observed annually on the third Thursday of each quarter. It’s an opportunity to reach out to your business’s patrons and get to know them a little better. To mark this week’s celebration, we’ve done just that!

As a 100 percent channel-focused company, WatchGuard’s entire business is structured to support and enable VARs and MSSPs. Our channel partners are our customers. From network security and intelligence to multi-factor authentication and secure Wi-Fi, these channel organizations work tirelessly to provide enterprise-grade security to customers of all sizes and industries. With the world’s ever-increasing reliance on connected devices and Wi-Fi connectivity, secure Wi-Fi is a major focus for our channel partners and their customers. As such, we asked a few questions to get to know their perspectives on the top challenges and benefits of Wi-Fi security today. Show less

From corporate offices to friendly neighborhood coffee shops, nearly every organization operating a Wi-Fi network is highly exposed to vulnerabilities which bad actors can use to steal sensitive data, eavesdrop, and infiltrate further into the network. The Wi-Fi attack surface is one of the most desirable to hackers because nearly every cyber security company focuses on layer 7 application attacks (such as zero-day malware and ransomware), while historically very little effort has been made to… Show more

From corporate offices to friendly neighborhood coffee shops, nearly every organization operating a Wi-Fi network is highly exposed to vulnerabilities which bad actors can use to steal sensitive data, eavesdrop, and infiltrate further into the network. The Wi-Fi attack surface is one of the most desirable to hackers because nearly every cyber security company focuses on layer 7 application attacks (such as zero-day malware and ransomware), while historically very little effort has been made to defend against layer 2 Wi-Fi attacks. In fact, protections for layer 2 have only recently been introduced, leaving 20 years’ worth of Wi-Fi access points, routers, and clients wide open to attack. Layer 2 Wi-Fi attacks often include tactics like flooding an AP with de-authentication frames or cracking WPA2, an encryption protocol designed to protect wireless networks. Show less

The majority of today’s Wi-Fi access points, routers, and hotspots are highly exposed attack surfaces. Practically every security company in the business focuses on layer 7 application attacks, such as zero-day malware and ransomware. Unfortunately, very little attention has been paid to Wi-Fi layer 2 attacks, which includes tactics like flooding an access point (AP) with de-authentication frames or cracking WPA2. To help combat these vulnerabilities, more and more IT departments are creating… Show more

The majority of today’s Wi-Fi access points, routers, and hotspots are highly exposed attack surfaces. Practically every security company in the business focuses on layer 7 application attacks, such as zero-day malware and ransomware. Unfortunately, very little attention has been paid to Wi-Fi layer 2 attacks, which includes tactics like flooding an access point (AP) with de-authentication frames or cracking WPA2. To help combat these vulnerabilities, more and more IT departments are creating “Trusted Wireless Environments” that automatically detect and prevent Wi-Fi threats. Show less

It's been nearly 20 years since IEEE 802.11b was released and the world got the first Wi-Fi-branded products. And yet the Layer 2 attack surface remains largely unprotected from dangerous Wi-Fi threats that can result in stolen credentials and sensitive information as well as backdoor/malware payload drops. Attackers have been exploiting a fundamental issue with Wi-Fi: Laptops, smartphones, and connected devices aren't equipped to distinguish between two radios broadcasting the same SSID name… Show more

It's been nearly 20 years since IEEE 802.11b was released and the world got the first Wi-Fi-branded products. And yet the Layer 2 attack surface remains largely unprotected from dangerous Wi-Fi threats that can result in stolen credentials and sensitive information as well as backdoor/malware payload drops. Attackers have been exploiting a fundamental issue with Wi-Fi: Laptops, smartphones, and connected devices aren't equipped to distinguish between two radios broadcasting the same SSID name. This allows hackers to use malicious access points (APs) that eavesdrop on traffic, establish "man-in-the-middle" (MitM) positions, and extract sensitive information, often without leaving any traces behind. Show less

It was a gorgeous, sunny week in San Francisco as the best and brightest security experts around the globe gathered to attend one of the leading cybersecurity tradeshows in the industry – RSA Conference 2018.

From hacking iOS to why security matters when it comes to Wi-Fi, wireless threats were the topic of several talk-tracks this year. We’re all guilty of connecting to unsecured public Wi-Fi at times. We connect at the Airport, coffee shop, and even at venues like RSAC. And as the… Show more

It was a gorgeous, sunny week in San Francisco as the best and brightest security experts around the globe gathered to attend one of the leading cybersecurity tradeshows in the industry – RSA Conference 2018.

From hacking iOS to why security matters when it comes to Wi-Fi, wireless threats were the topic of several talk-tracks this year. We’re all guilty of connecting to unsecured public Wi-Fi at times. We connect at the Airport, coffee shop, and even at venues like RSAC. And as the growth and popularity of Wi-Fi continues to climb, it’s important that we understand the risks that come with connecting to public Wi-Fi, or even offering Wi-Fi to employees, visitors and guests. Show less

When any new communication medium for sharing information emerges, it’s often quickly followed by those committed to hacking it. This natural progression is unfortunately very predictable: groups of skilled experts form to explore vulnerabilities; they share ideas, code, tools and more. After a while, that small group balloons into a full-blown community that’s equipped with easy-to-use graphical hacking toolkits and hundreds of instructional resources online. Suddenly, hacks that used to… Show more

When any new communication medium for sharing information emerges, it’s often quickly followed by those committed to hacking it. This natural progression is unfortunately very predictable: groups of skilled experts form to explore vulnerabilities; they share ideas, code, tools and more. After a while, that small group balloons into a full-blown community that’s equipped with easy-to-use graphical hacking toolkits and hundreds of instructional resources online. Suddenly, hacks that used to require years of experience are now widely available to anyone with a few hours to burn on YouTube and the willingness to download shady software tools. Show less

The security of open Wi-Fi hotspots has been a subject of great concern for years. But, would you believe that we were overwhelmingly successful using Wi-Fi attacks dating back twelve years on the RSA Conference show floor in San Francisco? Either we are really good at getting lucky with old tools, or there is a serious Wi-Fi security pandemic out there.

William Shakespeare once wrote, “the eyes are the windows to your soul,” but if you ask savvy retailers, they might say it’s guest Wi-Fi. Why? New Wi-Fi systems allow them to use powerful features like social media integration, SMS and email to gather key information about customers and connect with them long after they leave a brick and mortor location. While these features are good for both the business and its customers, they can also create challenges for small business owners who are… Show more

William Shakespeare once wrote, “the eyes are the windows to your soul,” but if you ask savvy retailers, they might say it’s guest Wi-Fi. Why? New Wi-Fi systems allow them to use powerful features like social media integration, SMS and email to gather key information about customers and connect with them long after they leave a brick and mortor location. While these features are good for both the business and its customers, they can also create challenges for small business owners who are already extremely busy. Show less

More than 9.1 million stores, cafes, hotels and other sites worldwide offer Wi-Fi, according to analysis firm Maravedis. If you look at this growth map, you can watch the number of global hotspots increasing at about two per second.

Not only do end customers expect connectivity, companies have learned that Wi-Fi can improve their bottom lines by acting as a source of leads and valuable marketing data, if they do security right. Because my company sells exclusively through the channel… Show more

More than 9.1 million stores, cafes, hotels and other sites worldwide offer Wi-Fi, according to analysis firm Maravedis. If you look at this growth map, you can watch the number of global hotspots increasing at about two per second.

Not only do end customers expect connectivity, companies have learned that Wi-Fi can improve their bottom lines by acting as a source of leads and valuable marketing data, if they do security right. Because my company sells exclusively through the channel, our partners constantly send us requests for new and different Wi-Fi services. I’ve distilled these requests to the top four value-added services most important to our mutual SMB customers. Presented here in order of least-to-most complicated, all of these represent potential ongoing billable services for the channel. Show less

Wireless adoption is growing fast globally, with Wi-Fi access becoming ubiquitous in businesses, stores, corporate environments and public spaces; literally everywhere we go.

As a small to midsized business (SMB), you may be considering or already offering Wi-Fi as a service to your customers. It’s a great idea. SMBs are adding Wi-Fi access in their environments to increase customer satisfaction, build loyalty, repeat visits, and enable unique marketing opportunities. Customers… Show more

Wireless adoption is growing fast globally, with Wi-Fi access becoming ubiquitous in businesses, stores, corporate environments and public spaces; literally everywhere we go.

As a small to midsized business (SMB), you may be considering or already offering Wi-Fi as a service to your customers. It’s a great idea. SMBs are adding Wi-Fi access in their environments to increase customer satisfaction, build loyalty, repeat visits, and enable unique marketing opportunities. Customers appreciate and come to expect a fast, reliable secure wireless network experience. Show less