infoTECH Feature

November 04, 2015

Cisco Provides Comprehensive Visibility and Protections for Digital Ecosystems

Having any type of digital presence requires an increased level of awareness of security threats in the ecosystem. In order to provide visibility for the entire digital environment in which organizations operate, Cisco announced improvements for its Security Everywhere platform.

Unlike on-premises infrastructures of the past, today’s IT deployments have many different vectors in which attacks can be launched. Hosted solutions, mobility, apps and call centers are just some of the possible gateways cyber criminals will target in order to breach the network of an organization.

Since a digital presence is essential for businesses, protecting that digital presence is paramount. However, one of the problems Cisco (News - Alert) points out is the different range of complex point solutions that are not interoperable within a company. This has resulted in many blind spots in which security teams don’t have visibility. And it is these blind spots that are the potential threats for compromising networks.

“Today, we share industry concerns that attackers pose significant risks to how we conduct business, looking for any possible entry point. Wherever we have a digital presence – whether that’s mobile, cloud, branch office or our corporate network – the only way to effectively combat these attacks is with protection that reaches from the foundational network to the cloud, device and remote locations,” William Dugger, Senior Manager, Network Engineering, Beachbody, LLC.

With the new advancement, Cisco has extended its Security Everywhere platform, making it possible to gain more visibility, control and protection for shadow IT, endpoints, and the cloud. According to the company, this architecture has emphasized embedding security in routers, switches and data center so attacks can be detected across the continuum quickly. Once the detection has been verified, remediation procedures can be initiated along with the necessary protocols to protect the assets that are being targeted.

To deliver threat visibility into the network and data security for cloud-based applications, Cisco has added Cisco Cloud Access Security (CAS), Identity Services Engine (ISE) enhancements and Threat Awareness Service. With these tools in place, organizations can extend the visibility as well as control of their network endpoints with new location access controls.

The threat companies’ face comes from internal and external sources, which is why it is critical to have complete visibility. A report by Cisco has revealed the number of unauthorized cloud applications employees’ use in the enterprise is 15 to 20 times higher than CIOs anticipated due to Shadow IT. If security teams are not able to see the hidden applications employees introduce, intentionally or not, into the company network, they will not be able to stop breaches.

Security can no longer be siloed because every point is a target, and if security teams are not able to see it, they won’t be able to protect it. 




Edited by Kyle Piscioniere
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