Display Technology
Selim Albardak, VP, global solutions engineering at Digi International, shares insight on the threats posed to digital signage as well as how wireless and IoT options driving digital signage forward.
Photo: Generated by AI. Adobe Stock.
March 21, 2025 by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com
While digital signage is now within reach of practically any organization, retailer and brand in terms of cost, and as the technology continues to develop, there are still more than a few challenges when it comes to deploying and managing digital signage.
Digital Signage Today reached out to Selim Albardak, VP, global solutions engineering at Digi International, to gain insight on the threats posed to digital signage as well as how wireless and IoT options driving digital signage forward. Albardak has deep expertise working with Fortune 200 companies in a wide range of industries including tech and manufacturing. Digi International provides mission-critical and business critical machine-to-machine and IoT connectivity products and services.
Q. What is the biggest failure point for digital signage today?
Albardak: There are multiple reasons for failures in digital signage — namely, loss of power, an unreliable network connection, use of consumer-grade hardware, poor lifecycle management and failed updates leading to bricked units requiring time-consuming and expensive truck rolls (sometimes costing twice in return merchandise authorization). From airport monitors to subway station advertisements, digital signs are sources of consumer and traveler information. As such, failures prevent operators from reaching intended audiences and even providing critical information such as airline gate changes or road hazards.
While signage equipment is very reliable, media players are notoriously unreliable, with many being Windows-based. The lack of out-of-band connectivity prevents remote remediation and critical fixes to prevent failures. When media players crash, operators may be required to roll a truck to reset it, which is very costly. Some operators see value in a remote reboot capability or timed overnight or off-hour reboots to avoid failure during business hours. Such capabilities require a device that can provide connectivity, monitoring, and timed actions.
Q. What are the biggest threats to digital signage and how can a brand/user safeguard against them?
Albardak: The greatest threat to digital signage is cyberattacks, with hijacked signage — physical and virtual — causing anything from panic to potential monetary damages. Brands must implement security best practices and partner with vendors that adhere to these principles, like the MITRE ATT&CK framework, which aims to mitigate exposure. Brands can further safeguard against cyberattacks by segmenting traffic, securing connectivity, upholding lifecycle management, installing physical security sensors and deploying governance models.
Our experience in this domain indicates that more than 75% of digital signs utilize a local network connection, meaning it uses fiber or Wi-Fi to connect to the local network. Examples include corporate signs managed by the sign and content manager utilizing the end customer’s network. This setup decreases reliability for the operator and provides a non-corporate connection to the end customer. This method also prevents hospitals, for example, from accessing the network to manage signage content. Further, the operator may not be able to verify the security of that network.
Q: What is the state of hacking with regard to digital signage? Is it increasing and can you share insight on prevention strategy?
Albardak: Hackers typically hack for a variety of reasons, most commonly to gain financial profit by stealing sensitive data like credit card details, personal information or trade secrets to sell on the dark web. Some of the methods hackers use for monetary gain include replacing a display’s QR code or convincing audiences to download trojans or spyware or inputting credit card information on spoofed sites with fake domain names. Additional hacker motivations include espionage, disrupting services, revenge, political activism («hacktivism»), personal curiosity or simply to test their technical skills.
Q. Weather is obviously a threat to outdoor digital signage — any tips on preventing weather impact?
Albardak: The consequences of weather-related damage can be severe, with the worst-case scenarios being a unit catching fire and burning a mall, shop or gas station. Hardened, industrial rated devices are a must-have for outdoor digital signage, as these devices are designed to ward against the elements and ensure solution longevity. Rugged devices also promote signage uptime, protecting brand reputation and minimizing expensive truck rolls, which are one of the largest financial burdens of downtime. Another means by which one can prevent the negative impact of weather is by using devices with appropriate IP (Ingress Protection), environmental and IEC safety ratings and specifications. Finally, avoid low-end market solutions lacking certification.
Q. There seems to be more interest in deploying wireless digital signage. Does that present a threat or are there protections in play and are there any constraints with wireless signage?
Albardak: To balance cost and availability, digital signage traditionally relied on Wi-Fi or legacy ethernet (cabling) to join unknown networks with no service level agreements or assurances, introducing significant risk (because of the shared medium). Business agility and risk management is a must today, especially for some of the world’s most regulated and protected industries such as oil, gas and power. These mission critical environments leverage cellular wireless technologies, and so should digital signage applications.
In the wireless WAN era, digital signs can have dedicated, secure, fast and reliable connectivity that mitigates risk and delivers new services, ultimately improving both top and bottom lines. Other great cellular wireless connectivity options for digital signage are 4G and 5G, which enable faster, more reliable and secure connectivity for IoT devices anywhere. Fast connectivity through 5G also permits the use of advanced technology like AI, helping convert digital signs into mobile autonomous robots that capture telemetry data and deliver audience-based broadcasting and immersive, dynamic experiences.
About Judy Mottl
Judy Mottl is editor of Retail Customer Experience and Digital Signage Today. She has decades of experience as a reporter, writer and editor covering technology and business for top media including AOL, InformationWeek, InternetNews and Food Truck Operator.
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