As more and more devices are becoming connected, the Internet of Things (IoT) grows. 5G helps agencies increase the use of IoT and the data within it. The capabilities of 5G help agencies handle more devices, while building greater security infrastructure to support the expanding environment.

While the Internet of Things has been making headlines for many years, there has been a gap between vision and reality when it comes to bringing it to life – especially from a federal and national security perspective. The vision for IoT is all about connecting everything from security cameras to sensors from doorbells to even smart parking garages.

Thanks to 5G, IoT is poised to take off thanks to the research happening at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Verizon. 5G offers the next platform for providing more immersive experiences, as well as handling more devices. In addition, developing robust security strategies around IoT is a paramount priority for PNNL, which will impact Smart City and defense applications.

These were the key themes in the fourth part of our Government Technology Insider  5G & Pacific Northwest National Laboratory: Shaping Technologies of National Importance” podcast series, part 4 on the Internet of things (IoT) where Penny McKenzie, Embedded & ICS Security Cyber Security Engineer at PNNL; Elena Peterson, Senior Cyber Security Researcher at PNNL: and Bryan Schromsky, Managing Partner, 5G Public Sector at Verizon, discussed this topic further.

“IoT has really been at the forefront of the research that we are doing at the 5G lab,” said McKenzie. “With the density of devices out there, we really need to better understand how we can manage those, especially when thinking about the security of these IoT devices – how they are connected, who they are connected to, and what type of data is being generated. 5G is really going to change the way that we look at IoT deployments overall.”

Listen to the full podcast below: