While the Internet of Things (IoT) 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.