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Will Lassalle on 5G Security, DDoS Attacks and Gaming

Interview with Will Lassalle, CIO at JLS Technology

In the “5G: Secure What Matters” blog post series, we showcase thought leaders and their unique perspectives on the intersection of 5G, security, and technology. We recently sat down with Will Lassalle, a CIO/CISO and industry speaker, to get his views on 5G.

Tell us about yourself?

I’m a firm believer that every organization is a technology organization. As such, I love solving business problems with innovative technology solutions.

I started my career working in the infrastructure side of the house, evolving into a CIO/CISO for 10 years+ as co-founder of JLS Technology USA. I led teams at startups, small businesses and enterprise organizations through digital transformations, where I enabled and secured new capabilities, while driving down overall costs.

Today, I am chief information officer at JLS Technology where I lead internal technology and innovation.

What do you think 5G means for the future of mobility?

I believe 5G presents a tremendous opportunity and will be instrumental in bringing together businesses, people, process, and data in a fully connected Internet of Everything world.

5G will also present new opportunities for innovation, allowing minds around the world to create some really cool stuff.

One area that I think will be an awesome opportunity for 5G and mobility is around gaming. I would assume the opportunity for on-the-go gaming, paired with cloud compute processing delivered over 5G would be massive and already on roadmaps for some of the better-known companies. In addition, I’d expect some new, innovative players to take advantage of the capabilities enabled by 5G.

What challenges do you see in moving to 5G?

I see capacity becoming a concern – with so many devices utilizing 5G. If we end up with unanticipated and widespread adoption of 5G, we will face capacity issues that will not only degrade service, but possibly deny service. This will lead to my second anticipated challenge: security

I see security challenges showing up on the network, such as denial of service issues that are malicious or inadvertent in nature. The first few years of roll-out will be critical, with most use cases taking a “wait and see” approach.

What are some of the top security challenges for 5G?

Some of the top security challenges will be the ability to contain attacks, such as DDoS, and related attacks against 5G-based infrastructure like those used in smart cities.

Mobile service providers will be challenged to maintain a network that can respond to not only cyber attacks, but also the infrastructure, with malicious actors utilizing the available bandwidth capacity to launch attacks from within the infrastructure.

Being able to respond to an attack from outside or inside the network, while still delivering critical services on the same network, presents a huge challenge. 5G service providers will really need to develop new tools and utilize new hardware and software to secure the network.

What’s the most important change/benefit in what 5G will make for you (or your organization)?

For me, the most important benefit with 5G will be having more connected devices, and extending the smart home to connected devices, such as cars, backyard pools, landscaping equipment, etc.

What is the top business problem/challenge that you hope could be resolved with 5G technology?

I hope one of the top business challenges that can be resolved with 5G is increased access to faster internet in rural areas. This will help underserved areas capitalize on e-commerce, telemedicine, online job opportunities and educational opportunities. It would allow more rural organizations to collaborate and even compete in the electronic marketplaces.

In five years, where do you think we will be in using 5G?

In five years, I see 5G being used in medical devices, enabling telemedicine more so than what we see in use today.

About Will Lassalle

Will Lassalle is Chief Information Officer of JLS Technology USA. He is an accomplished, results-driven technology, security, and risk executive with an MBA and 20+ years’ experience and success leading information technology teams. Will holds a bachelor’s degree in information security, an MBA in project management and master’s certificate in executive leadership from Columbia University. Will holds numerous certifications including: PMP~ ITIL ~ Six Sigma Green Belt ~ Project+ ~ MCSE: Security ~ MCSA: Security ~ CCNA~ Security+ and others. Will has been recognized as a thought leader in information technology/information security, as a top-20 Most Social CIO in the Huffington Post, a top-20 most influential chief information technology officer, a top-100 data security influencer and sought-after speaker at events.