The cyber security threats derived from email are significant and encompass simple cons to sophisticated cyber attacks.

Over the last 40+ years, our email journey has seen many improvements, but the primary function has stayed the same. That is, you send some information to an email address like a blind transmission. You can never be 100% sure somebody has read it. There are at least three uncertainties:

• You can receive emails from people you don’t know
• You cannot always validate the sender’s identity
• You cannot be sure that the information was not changed on the way

I have noticed many organisations use emails as the enterprise filing system. That is, humans have become highly connected to email. Even those who are wise to the threats are sometimes fooled or conned. For example, many people are still being conned or falling for scams and redirecting payments to others. The challenge is that humans open the email and are easily fooled by cyber criminals.

Only some people keep up with the current technology. For example, some organisations still host their own mail exchange servers! Most of us now use a cloud provider like Microsoft or Google that do a reasonable job of filtering out unwanted emails, and some still use special email filtering tools. But still, harmful content gets through.

Big organisations like Microsoft have had severe cyber attacks and breaches in the last few months. Although this has potentially made their platform less trustworthy, it is still useful – however, I have become more wary.

75 – 80% of all successful cyber attacks start with an email, such as a phishing attack (various sources – Deloitte’s/ACSC). The role of email beyond the initial attack vector is also a consideration, such as manipulating staff or external client relationships.

One of the critical technical challenges is that one platform (interface) is used for internal and external communications. Focusing on isolating internal and external as separate systems could mitigate much of the risk. External email communications these days should be treated as corrupted! If emails are corrupted, and the human has to decide to open or not open, with the advent of new AI-based cyber attacks, this will naturally become a more significant threat.

One click on one of those special external emails, and it’s all over potentially! The spam and sheer number of emails that hit our inboxes is sometimes daunting, making it hard to clear the email box quickly and increasing the chance of opening the wrong thing. The problem is a human one, so we may need to create a simple alternative.

What if we use email for external communications only and Secure Instant Messaging (SIM) for all internal communications?

SIM systems include LamChat (the Australian system we built) and Signal, for example. Email was created for simple data transfer, and its scope has been stretched since then. SIM, like LamChat, is far more secure and modern. Before any SIM communications can begin, a trusted connection between parties needs to be established. After that, sophisticated encryption methodologies are engaged to secure the communication with other parties. It’s also a separate system, so human nature can work to our advantage as they will require a different focus when using the SIM system vs. email (being used for external communications only). The modern SIM systems are more capable and more sophisticated than email and offer the following core features:

• Confidentiality
• Integrity
• Authentication
• Participant consistency
• Destination validation
• Forward secrecy
• Backward secrecy (aka future secrecy)
• Causality preservation
• Message unlinkability
• Message non-repudiation
• Participation non-repudiation
• Asynchronicity
• Anonymity preservation

Email does none of these things in its standard form.

If your organisation suffers a cyber breach, how will your people communicate? Will they use the same email and maybe Teams system that was compromised (many do, by the way)? This is highly risky, as hackers typically gain control of email accounts and therefore, teams messages, files and so on. In many cases, the attackers read/watch what happens in the organisation while dealing with the cyber attack. Some organisations use a secure messaging system separate from everything else as part of their cyber security incident response. What does your cyber attack response plan call for?

Why not use a secure messaging system for all internal communication and potentially with trusted third parties (such as suppliers)? Consider this scenario: a company CEO asks the CFO to make a payment via SIM, and the CFO has been instructed never to create a payment if requested by email – any external email with instructions will be disregarded. In another scenario, all employees open emails expecting them to be corrupted by a phishing attack or some scam (even if they are from an internal account). How would human behaviour change?

The advent of a modern SIM system allows an organisation to work differently. Guess what? The transition will cost nothing! You just need to train the humans to work a bit differently! But, doing so will radically change the cyber threat landscape for your organisation.

Who else is doing this, you might ask? The answer is most Governments, Military and security-sensitive organisations worldwide.

Feel free to experiment with our free LamChat system, use many other services or build your own (we can help you with this!).

Reliable Campus Wi-Fi Solutions for a High-Speed Service

Instant and reliable Wi-Fi internet has fast become a necessity for schools, colleges, and universities. Laptops, tablets and digital boards have now taken over blackboards and pen and paper. With the average student connected to an average of two to three devices at a time, subpar networks just won’t cut it. To dig a little deeper into reliable campus Wi-Fi solutions for a high-speed service, let’s look at some current issues and how we may solve these…

Unique Challenges we encounter with campus Wi-Fi

School, college, and university campuses are one of the most demanding environments when it comes to Wi-Fi connectivity. The demands and expectations placed by students, faculty, and guests pose unique challenges to providing reliable and secure wireless connectivity. Some of which include

Coverage

Campuses cover vast land space. Some spread across multiple locations in cities. If this isn’t enough, students and faculty not only need access to Wi-Fi inside the buildings but also need it outdoors while traveling around the campus.

Number of users

Let’s say we solve the issue of coverage. We still face the challenge of seamlessly connecting the vast number of people within one area. For instance, there may be too many people within a lecture hall, all trying to connect to the internet at the same time.

Security

With hackers on the rise, protecting sensitive data and online activity at home and in small organisations is challenging. So, imagine the threats faced when dealing with cybersecurity across a university campus.

Budget

With such requirements, standard legacy networks will not have the capacity to fulfill the demands. Leading to unsatisfied students and faculty staff.

With all the above in mind, what do we do?

Our key priorities for reliable campus Wi-Fi solutions

Here at Laminar, we focus on the solutions. We distinguish the main priorities and get to work from there to come up with the most suitable outcome.

In this case, the top three key priorities include

Speed

With the need for instant access to information, speed is a priority. Enter the new generation of Wi-Fi – Wi-Fi 6. This is a substantial upgrade from previous wireless internet, allowing a faster connection speed of approximately 9.6Gbps.

Latency

Wi-Fi 6 is not only about speed. As we discovered, one of the core issues is the density of users within educational institutions. This is where technology such as Wi-Fi 6 will enable connectivity with features such as MIMO (Multi-Input, Multi-Output) and dual-band support. Allowing for higher capacity and lower latency. This is important because often, the cause of an underperforming wireless network is congestion.

Consistency

A key challenge faced by many is implementing a solution and then forgetting about it. As the saying goes, “prevention is better than cure.” This also applies to the upkeep of wireless internet solutions. So, remember to plan and implement with the future in mind whilst enforcing ongoing maintenance.

How we test for reliability and secure the network from external threats

At Laminar, we are experts in implementing IT Security infrastructure. The three key areas we assess are:

• Detection and response
• Identification and Isolation
• Authentication and Authorisation

We will work closely with you to provide suitable detection and response solutions to help isolate and reduce cyber breaches from spreading throughout networks.

Contact Laminar for custom campus Wi-Fi solutions

We understand schools have unique needs for many different devices to operate at the optimum speed all on one platform. Consulting with us about the best way to make this work for you and your school is an essential investment at the start of your process.

Laminar’s engineered point-to-point wireless solutions provide guaranteed performance across long-distance links. These links allow connecting multiple sites.

With our end-to-end solutions, you can always guarantee seamless connectivity. We take responsibility for the entire installation. This includes scoping, design, implementation, test, and ongoing support.

Contact us today to get started.

Have you ever found yourself holding up the phone and waving it in all sorts of directions just to get a signal? At some point, we have all experienced low bars and the frustration of not being able to make a phone call. But did you know that the bars on the top of your phone screen are not true indicators of your phone’s signal strength? That’s right. There’s another way to get an accurate picture of your phone’s signal strength and actually use your phone as a signal strength meter…

To make sense of this, let’s dig a little deeper.

How your phone is connecting to cell towers to make calls

Before we jump into uncovering how to check signal strength, it’s essential to know how things work.

When you make a call, electromagnetic radio waves are emitted. These are picked up by the nearest cell tower. Once the signal is received by the cell tower, it transmits it to a Mobile Switching Tower (MSC), which in turn allows the call to be connected. There’s a lot more behind the scenes technical physics involved, but we’ll leave it at this for now.

How To Use Decibels to Measure Signal Strength

Mobile phone signal strength is most accurately measured in Decibels (DB) and Decibel Milliwatts (DBm). The main difference between the two is

• Decibel Milliwatts – represents the difference between the two units (increase or decrease in signal). It helps in determining the amount of signal strength that may be produced by an amplifier system.
• Decibel Milliwatts – this refers to how much signal is present.

What’s An Optimal Signal Strength for Phones?

So, now you know the basics, you might be wondering: what is a good signal strength?

Depending on the type of network you are on, the ideal signal strength will vary. For example, if you are on a 3G network, -70 DBm would be considered an excellent signal strength, whereas, on 4G, a signal strength of -90 DBm will be perfect. On the other hand, a signal of -110 DBm will be in a ‘dead zone’ if you are on a 3G network, but you might get away with a poor signal at the same DBm on a 4G network. In simple terms, the lower the DBm, the better the signal.

How do I check the signal strength of my phone?

Each phone has its unique way in which you can determine the signal strength of your phone.

• Android – to find the signal strength on your Android phone, go to
  – settings
  – click about phone
  – select status information
  – Click SIM card status
• iPhone – The iPhone has a field test application through which you can access the DBm information.

Using mobile apps to check the signal strength on your phone

These days it’s quick and easy to get this information by simply downloading an app on your phone. With the abundance of apps to choose from, you’ll be spoilt for choice. Here’s one suggestion to help you: Network Cell Info Lite & WiFi.

Mobile signal boosters we recommend

As the name suggests, mobile signal boosters are designed to amplify the cell signal reaching your device. So, if you’re in a building with a very poor cell signal, the signal booster will solve the issue. Below are a few mobile signal boosters we recommend.

• SureCall Flare 3.0 – for home cellular boosters.
• SureCall EZ-4G – best for those in apartments.
• WeBoost Drive Sleek – the best for in-vehicle when you’re on the go.
• WeBoost Home studio – Suitable for smaller homes.
• Cel-Fi pro – for when you went the extra signal boost in your apartment.

Whilst these are just some of the highly recommended signal boosters, there are plenty more where they came from to suit every need.

Still Experiencing Lack of Signal? Contact Laminar

If you’ve tried everything and are still struggling with the lack of cell signal, contact our team today.

We can reliably test for signal strength and provide you with a tailored solution to solve the problem so you can enjoy unwavering connectivity.