The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) represents a shift toward establishing harmonized guidelines that can keep pace with the dynamic nature of cyber threats.

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Over the past decade, the cyber threat landscape has undergone a significant transformation, escalating from isolated attacks by lone wolves to sophisticated, coordinated breaches by state-sponsored entities and organized crime groups. During this period of change, cybersecurity has often been a secondary thought for enterprises, frequently addressed through reactive measures insufficient to counteract such advanced threats. However, we’re witnessing a pivotal shift, predominantly driven by regulatory bodies, toward establishing harmonized guidelines that can keep pace with the dynamic nature of cyber threats.

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) represents one such proactive stride in this direction. Targeted at the European Union (EU) financial sector and built around five core pillars, DORA advocates for a risk-based framework  that enhances the sector’s capabilities to prevent, respond to, and recover from cyber incidents.

Figure 1: DORA Core Pillars

How can you leverage Secure Workload to prepare for DORA?

While DORA does not dictate precise technical requirements, it provides the groundwork for a risk-based shift in cybersecurity. Secure Workload serves as a pivotal tool in this transition, enabling organizations to understand risk, prevent and mitigate risk, and report risks associated with their application workloads.

1. Understanding Risk

To understand risk, you must have visibility to know what is happening in your environment. Secure Workload delivers in-depth insights into how your workloads communicate and behave, including identifying any vulnerable packages installed. You can quickly answer questions such as:

“Are my workloads utilizing approved enterprise services for common services such as DNS or NTP?”
“Am I vulnerable to a specific vulnerability?
“What is the risk of that vulnerability” Is it easily exploitable?
“Are my workloads using insecure or obsolete transport session protocols and ciphers?”
“Are my financial application workloads communicating to non-production environments?
“How is my financial application communicating to external dependencies?”
“Is it communicating to malicious networks?”
Figure 2: Application Dependency Map and Traffic Flow SearchFigure 3: Vulnerability Risk Information Distribution

2. Preventing and Mitigating Risk

Once the risk is understood, it is time to act. This action can take the form of proactive controls and compensating controls.

Proactive Controls: Secure Workload microsegmentation policies allow you to create fine-grained allow-list policies for applications by discovering their dependencies. Additionally, guardrail policies can be established to restrict communications from risk-prone environments to your production workloads, such as non-production cannot talk to production workloads, or the PCI Cardholder Environment cannot talk to PCI Out-of-Scope or perhaps OT network cannot communicate with the data center, allowing to contain lateral movement and reduce the blast radius.
Figure 4: Proactive Segmentation Controls with MicrosegmentationCompensating Controls: Even in the worst-case scenario, where a new zero-day vulnerability is disclosed or ransomware hits the organization, Secure Workload can rapidly act on this and restrict For example, you can quarantine a workload communication based on multiple attributes, such as CVE information, CVE Score, or even the access vectors access vectotr assestment.You can also choose to leverage Virtual Patch through the Secure Firewall integration to protect your workloads against exploits while the patch is applied. Even in the scenario that a workload changes its behavior (e.g., from trusted to untrusted due to an intrusion event or malware event) you can leverage Secure Firewall intelligence through FMC (Firewall Management Center) to quarantine workloads.
Figure 5: Compensating Control with Virtual PatchFigure 6: Change-in Behavior Controls

3. Reporting Risk

DORA mandates to report major ICT-related incidents to relevant competent authorities. Because of this, reporting becomes a paramount process within the organization. Secure Workload offers multiple options for reporting, ranging from near real-time visualization dashboard and reports to detailed point-in-time retrospectives of incidents.

Security Dashboard: Provides a high-level overview of the security posture and hygiene of the environment.
Vulnerability Dashboard: Displays current CVEs within the environment along with a detailed assessment of their potential impact on confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Additional metrics such as risk score, exploitability, and complexity are also included.
Reporting Dashboard: Presents a detailed view tailored to specific roles like SecOps and NetOps. An important capability to mention here is how the security summary maps to a modern risk-based approach to detect adversaries MITRE ATT&CK framework. Secure Workload has multiple forensic rules mapped to the MITRE ATT&CK TTPs (Technique, Tactics, and Procedures) allowing one to identify an adversary and follow every single step taken to compromise, exploit, and exfiltrate data.
Figure 7: Security Summary in Compliance ReportsFigure 8: Forensic Event Incident

Key Takeaways

While navigating the requirements of DORA may seem daunting, the right tools can revolutionize your organization’s approach to Cyber Resilience with a risk-centric focus. Secure Workload can be instrumental in facilitating this transformation, enabling your organization to achieve:

Strategic Cyber Resilience: Secure Workload can be a strategic enabler for aligning with DORA’s vision. Transitioning from a reactive cybersecurity stance to a proactive, risk-based approach, prepares your organization to anticipate and counteract the evolving cyber threat landscape
Comprehensive Risk Insights: With granular visibility into application workload communications, dependencies, and vulnerabilities, coupled with the implementation of robust microsegmentation and compensating controls, Secure Workload equips you with the capabilities to not only understand but also to effectively mitigate risks before they materialize into breaches.

Learn more about Cisco Secure Workload

We’d love to hear what you think. Ask a Question, Comment Below, and Stay Connected with Cisco Security on social!

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Discover how Travis H. creates team culture with his unique background and insights as he finds his new place at Cisco as Americas Security Partner Sales Leader.

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When I left the military, I had some big misconceptions. I thought jumping into a leadership position at a big company like Cisco would be a breeze. I had already led Marines into conflict zones, so how hard could it be?

But, after being turned down several times for leadership positions at several different companies, I had to rethink my strategy. It turned out that I had a lot to learn about the business world, especially the business world of cybersecurity that I was joining.

Had I gotten lucky enough to jump into leadership right out of the gate, I likely would have failed. I knew how to lead teams into combat but didn’t know the first thing about a sales cycle, CRM pipeline, or really anything about positioning cybersecurity products in a crowded market. When I started at Cisco in 2021 as a Cybersecurity Sales Specialist (CSS), I was exactly where I needed to be. I was drinking from the firehose and loving every minute of it. I learned about the business, the people, and the processes by which CSSs become successful. Cisco made it so easy for me to learn about my job while at the same time providing me with the opportunities to grow my career. I was aligned with a leadership mentor, provided with coaching, and got the really cool opportunity to write for this blog. I was learning about this new world and loving it — and then it all changed in a good way.

Because of my work as a CSS, I had the opportunity to jump into something new (ish). I was still in the cybersecurity sales world, but was moved into this magical place called “The Channel” as a Sales Business Development Manager (BDM). I had no clue what the channel was and had no idea what the difference was between business development and sales, but, like a good Marine, I knuckled down and learned as much as I could, as quickly as I could. I was now working with Cisco’s largest service provider partners in promoting and selling Cisco cybersecurity through partnerships and business development. Once again, the Spidey-sense-like military mindset kicked in. I was used to partnerships. In the Marines, the work we did with allied and local partners was crucial to the success of any mission we conducted, and the channel was no different. I found that, through our partners, Cisco can extend its cybersecurity reach and protect more people from the ever-advancing cyber threats we face every day.

Once again, I found my place, but I’m starting to think “my place” is a fluid concept. The numerous opportunities I’ve enjoyed within Cisco Security are just part of why Cisco is the #1 Best Workplace in more than twenty countries worldwide — one company, many careers.

So, as things in the cybersecurity business world change, so did my place in it. In December of 2023, I got the opportunity to compete for a leadership role on our Global Security Partner Sales team as the Americas lead, and after a few rounds of panel interviews and discussions, I won the role. I was ecstatic, but also grateful. Grateful for the time I’d put into learning the business and translating military skills into business skills. Grateful for the opportunities Cisco gave me to learn about the role, the company, leadership, and how to best build my network. I was about to hire a brand new team, and I wanted to ensure that I led them as well as I was led and that I created a culture that was a good combination of the best parts of my military skills turned business skills and the best parts of Cisco leadership training. Throughout my interview process and the foundational principles I used to hire my new team, it was all about GRIT.

G – Growth: Growth of the business and of our people.
We have a job to do and do everything in our power to grow the business we were entrusted with. Our team will exceed expectations. But … we also have to grow as people. Each of us has goals, dreams, and lives outside of Cisco, and it’s the team’s job to encourage everyone to grow in all areas of life.
R – Resilience: Adapting to challenges together.
We recognize the importance of engaging in challenging conversations with our partners and amongst ourselves. Through honest discussions, we can move through these situations with grace and respect, responding thoughtfully rather than reactively and focusing on constructive outcomes.
I – Innovation: Do things differently for a better outcome.At Cisco, we do things differently and transform the way business is done. A culture of creativity and new ideas is not only welcome but encouraged. Working with our partners is an honor, and we welcome all ideas and strategies to increase the growth of Cisco and Cisco Security.
T – Trust: Without it, we have nothing else.We will be a trusted team because we put integrity first. We will be a company and a team that keeps our word and will work diligently to solve big problems through hard work, honesty, and integrity rather than cutting corners. If we don’t know the answer, we will find it, and support one another through it all because we also trust each other.

With GRIT, my team and I are building, innovating, leading, making change, and growing along with Cisco Security. A well-respected Army General once told me that luck is when opportunity meets preparation. While I don’t know how my place may take shape in the future, I do know what I’ve learned from my time in uniform and as a Cisconian so far has prepared me well as I move through my Cisco journey.

Are you ready to start your Cisco journey? Explore opportunities now.

Subscribe to the WeAreCisco Blog.

"}]]  Discover how Travis H. creates team culture with his unique background and insights as he finds his new place at Cisco as Americas Security Partner Sales Leader.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Preparing for the Cisco Enterprise Network Assurance (ENNA) exam can be a challenge. Make it easier by signing up for free network assurance prep today.

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It’s no secret that today’s networks span across a vast, decentralized web of services, where anything can—and will—happen to your data. And when your network’s not under your direct control, it’s hard to see issues.

Not knowing what’s going on in and around your network leads to poor performance and reliability, which in turn has consequences for company profitability. That’s a lot of revenue walking out the door. 

Network assurance is the answer

To avoid the consequences of poor network visibility, network assurance gives you complete insight into everything affecting your network, including cloud and service providers. This ensures a seamless, secure, and responsive experience for users across the spectrum of digital services. 

Let a network assurance certification help you climb the career ladder. 

That’s why the Enterprise Network Assurance (ENNA) Specialist Certification—is so critical. It positions you as a network engineering leader, validating your skills in network observability and monitoring. The certification offers everything you need to provide excellent service across the entire tech stack, making you an invaluable asset to any company. 

Network assurance solutions

An important part of learning network assurance is understanding how to use Cisco ThousandEyes. Though the name sounds like a classic James Bond character, it’s actually a widely–used network assurance platform in both Cisco and non-Cisco networks. Cisco ThousandEyes provides end-to-end visibility, collecting data from various points to help networking professionals troubleshoot effectively. 

The ENNA Specialist certification will also showcase your ability to use: 

Meraki Health 
Meraki Insights  
Cisco Catalyst Center Assurance 
Cisco AppDynamics 
Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN Analytics  

Using these solutions, you’ll be able to set up and manage a secure and functional network. You’ll also be able to understand how to proactively plan for challenges like cybersecurity attacks and occasional bandwidth saturation issues. 

Network assurance prep made easier 

Becoming certified for this complex subject requires a strategic study plan, one that includes effective study tips, a thorough understanding of the exam topics, and hands-on practice with network assurance solutions.  

That’s why we’ve put together the free Network Assurance Prep Program to jumpstart your ENNA certification exam prep and help ensure that you’re exam-ready. The program offers network engineers and current ThousandEyes customers exclusive access to: 

Resources to craft a personalized self-study plan, tailored to your time and learning preferences 
Five interactive webinars 
Enterprise Network Assurance (ENNA) exam topic review sessions 
Access to Cisco Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) to better understand the Network Assurance certification requirements  

Aspire. Prepare. Excel now. 

It’s important to reiterate that this educational journey is not just about passing an exam. It’s about transforming how you interact with networks, ensuring you’re equipped to handle the challenges of modern network environments.  

Mark your calendar with these Network Assurance Prep webinar dates. 

Kick-off webinar

Date: May 29, 2024

Time: 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time 

Exam topics review webinars: 

Platforms and Architecture Review: June 12, 2024, at 8 a.m. Pacific Time 
Data Collection Implementation Review: June 18, 2024, at 8 a.m. Pacific Time 
Data Analysis Review: June 26, 2024, at 11 a.m. Pacific Time 
Insights and Alerts Review: July 10, 2024, at 8 a.m. Pacific Time

Why wait?

Network assurance is more than a technical skill, it’s a full-on enabler of digital transformation. And the certificate is an official validation of your networking expertise. 

Sign up today.

Enroll now in the free Network Assurance Prep Program and take the first step towards becoming a network assurance specialist. If you can’t attend in person, sign up and we’ll send you the recordings. All content will be available on-demand after the webinars are completed.  

What goes into learning network assurance, anyway? 

Because network assurance covers so much ground and complexity, we recommend you sign up for the Cisco U. Designing and Implementing Enterprise Network Assurance Learning Path to learn the subject from top to bottom. For a limited time, you can start Track 1 of this path for free. Simply sign up for a free Cisco U. account. 

This Learning Path gives you access to all the courses, labs, and assessments you need to understand network assurance well enough not only to pass the exam but perform network assurance tasks in the real world. Think of the Learning Path as law school and the ENNA exam as the bar exam. Anything from the Learning Path could be on the exam—or any theoretical network assurance problem could be posed—so make sure you know it all. 

Sign up for Cisco U. | Join the  Cisco Learning Network today for free.

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Use  #CiscoU and #CiscoCert to join the conversation.

"}]]  Preparing for the Cisco Enterprise Network Assurance (ENNA) exam can be a challenge. Make it easier by signing up for free network assurance prep today.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

At Cisco Live, June 2-6 in Las Vegas, we’re bringing together forward-thinkers from retail, financial services, hospitality, and sports, media, and entertainment. Join us to engage with visionaries and discover innovative solutions that will elevate your vision and Go Beyond!

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Get ready to ignite your passion for innovation at Cisco Live 2024! We’re excited to bring together forward-thinkers from retail, financial services, hospitality, and sports, media, and entertainment from June 2-6 in Las Vegas. Engage with visionaries, discover innovative solutions and gain insights that will drive your industry forward. Elevate your vision and Go Beyond!

Get started with a full list of industry sessions and activities

At the heart of innovation and collaboration, Cisco Live is where IT visionaries gather to discuss, network and explore emerging trends shaping the retail, financial services, hospitality, and sports, media, and entertainment sectors. Engage with an extensive selection of workshops and on-demand content, focusing on how AI, sustainability, and security are reshaping these industries. Maximize your Cisco Live experience with curated industry sessions and activities.

Check out the sessions and activities and plan out your experience:

Consumer Industries at Cisco Live 2024

We’ll be showcasing a variety of customers to highlight their specific stories and topics, allowing you to gain knowledge from fellow professionals. Be sure to visit our webpage to discover the key sessions, networking opportunities, and customer recognition programs we have lined up. Below, you can preview of some of the distinguished customers you’ll have the chance to meet and learn from at Cisco Live.

Retail: Room & Board

In the era of digital transformation defining the customer experience, Mark Rodrigue, Sr. Network Engineer at Room & Board, has played a crucial role in transforming the retail experience. By incorporating ThousandEyes, the retailer ensures stellar network performance and robust security across their digital platforms, enhancing both online and in-store interactions. Room & Board’s use of technologies such as cloud collaboration and augmented reality has allowed them to connect with a broad audience by offering varied service experiences.

For an in-depth look at how these digital solutions are applied, join the conversation with Cisco and Room & Board. Additionally, make sure to sign up for a Cisco Store Tech Tour to learn more about the Cisco and partner retail ecosystem and engage with the technology in real time!

Between customer expectations and an experience that delivers, there’s a bridge.

Financial Services: BlackRock Financial

Cisco equips financial organizations with the necessary tools to create exceptional client interactions, empower employees, safeguard their reputation, and optimize their operations. At Cisco Live, discover how BlackRock Financial is strategically outfitting their premier New York City office to offer the finest collaborative experience for both on-site and remote participants.

Between digital financial services and the human touch, there’s a bridge.

Sports, Media and Entertainment: Atletico Mineiro / Arena MRV

Cisco’s solutions provide secure connectivity for many venues, teams, and leagues within the Sports, Media, and Entertainment sectors, enhancing fans’ experiences in unparalleled ways. Join us to learn how security strategy safeguarding fan experiences powered by Cisco Firepower, Umbrella, and ISE, and the synergy between high-speed access and robust cybersecurity for live events and stadium engagement.

Between reacting to expectations and elevating experiences, there’s a bridge.

The conversation is just getting started. We’re looking forward to meeting you in Las Vegas or virtually!

Find advanced use cases and architectures that are reshaping your industry:

Cisco Portfolio Explorer

"}]]  At Cisco Live, June 2-6 in Las Vegas, we’re bringing together forward-thinkers from retail, financial services, hospitality, and sports, media, and entertainment. Join us to engage with visionaries and discover innovative solutions that will elevate your vision and Go Beyond!  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Meraki APIs allow businesses to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, and configure and deploy networks quickly at a scale. Developrs can leverage API operations to retrieve performance metrics, monitor network health, analyze traffic data and create custom reports to gain insights into the network usage.

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Postman honored Cisco Meraki APIs with the “The Best API award” at their esteemed PostCon24 Conference held in San Francisco on May 1st, 2024.

Meraki ranked #10 out of 100,000 other APIs, and we joined a club of 19 other winners including Stripe, Microsoft, and Meta.

The winners selected for this award had the most used API collections on the Postman API Network. They also demonstrated a steadfast commitment to enhancing the developer experience, evidenced by key performance indicators like the frequency of successful API requests and the simplicity of using their APIs.

Meraki API collections are one of the most popular API collections on the Postman network and were endorsed with a verified badge thereby enhancing credibility.

A journey of growth and Innovation

From the humble beginning of its first API collection in 2016, Meraki has consistently expanded its collection, demonstrating a steadfast commitment to adopting an API-first approach. The growth of Meraki’s API suite has been nothing short of phenomenal. What began as a small set of tools has evolved into a comprehensive suite supporting a wide range of use cases, making it an indispensable resource for developers and businesses.

Significant milestones in this programmatic journey were – the transition to version 1 of the API, the introduction of webhooks & templates as means for no-code/low-code automation, the broadening of the API ecosystem & marketplace designed to serve a variety of industry needs, adherence to Open API Specification standards, and the upcoming exciting changes to API & developers Meraki Dashboard page.

Meraki APIs allow businesses to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks such as provisioning new devices, updating device configurations, managing SSIDs across multiple networks and location.  They can help with configuration and deployment of networks quickly at a scale. You can leverage API operations to retrieve performance metrics, monitor network health, analyze traffic data and create custom reports to gain insights into the network usage. Businesses can also create their personalized dashboards to better understand their data and integrate Meraki platform with any third-party systems, enhancing efficiency across enterprise operations. The Meraki Ecosystem Marketplace hosts a wide array of partner solutions that are built on top of Meraki APIs. These solutions cater to different business needs such as hybrid work, smart spaces, sustainability etc. Any customers who wish to embark on programmatic journey can choose to build their network automation themselves leveraging Meraki APIs or explore our partner applications that are tailored to their specific needs.

This prestigious “Best API Award” is a testament to the hard work, innovation, and dedication of all the teams that have defined Meraki’s approach to API development over the years. “Building a great developer experience is hard, and these awards recognize the companies who have worked the hardest alongside us to build APIs that just work and are easy to learn. With over 100,000 APIs, the Postman API Network is the world’s largest public API hub, so these awards show what it takes to be the best in developers’ eyes,” said Abhinav Asthana, co-founder, and CEO of Postman.

A Collaborative Developer Community

The success of Meraki’s APIs can be attributed, in part, to the vibrant and engaged developer community that surrounds it. Over the years, developers have been enthusiastic supporters and active contributors, providing invaluable feedback that has shaped the evolution of Meraki’s API offerings. This collaborative spirit has been instrumental in refining and enhancing the APIs, ensuring they meet the diverse and dynamic needs of users.

Empowering Through Automation

Meraki understands the transformative power of automation and the pivotal role APIs play in achieving it. By integrating APIs at the core of its cloud platform, Meraki ensures that automation is not just an add-on, but a fundamental component of its services. This strategic focus on automation has allowed Meraki customers to achieve new levels of efficiency and agility.

Looking Ahead: The Future of Meraki’s APIs

As Meraki continues to innovate and expand its API offerings, the future looks incredibly promising. Edwin Mach, Director of Meraki API & Ecosystem echoes this feeling. He adds, “I’m super excited that our teams are recognized for building world-class APIs, and even more excited about the opportunities that lay ahead for our customers, developers, and partners as they use Cisco Meraki APIs to enable new outcomes in Generative AI, network management, and beyond.”

The commitment to an API-first approach means that Meraki will keep evolving its platform, providing even more powerful tools and capabilities to developers. This award is not just a recognition of past achievements, but a harbinger of the exciting advancements yet to come.

Stay up to date with the latest Meraki API releases.

Meraki Developer & API community
Meraki Monthly Changelog
Meet the team at Cisco Live US 2024

"}]]  Meraki APIs allow businesses to automate repetitive and time-consuming tasks, and configure and deploy networks quickly at a scale. Developrs can leverage API operations to retrieve performance metrics, monitor network health, analyze traffic data and create custom reports to gain insights into the network usage.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

See how Cisco is leveraging Cisco Defense Orchestrator, Multicloud Defense, and Secure Firewall to securely connect apps from site to cloud and between clouds.

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In today’s modern IT environment, most organizations leverage both the public cloud and private data center to house critical business applications. In many cases, these applications require communication with other applications to execute a particular need for the business. A common challenge among the customers I have spoken with is that they have applications in one environment that need to talk to applications in another environment, but they don’t want to send that data directly over the internet.

I don’t blame them— enterprises want to minimize their internet exposure as much as possible, hiding internal apps away from the internet.

Traditionally, organizations have leaned on dedicated connection (or cloud-native) services like AWS Direct Connect or Azure ExpressRoute to connect applications in the public cloud to the private data center. While these methods are high-speed options that facilitate connections between the public cloud and private data center, these connections are costly at scale, are not encrypted using IPsec, do not facilitate cloud-to-cloud connectivity, and require different configuration depending on the cloud environment.

To solve these challenges, Cisco has released new multicloud networking capabilities enabling scalable, secure site-to-site and cloud-to-cloud connectivity. These features use Cisco VPN code on the Multicloud Defense Egress Gateway and BGP routing for better connectivity across your cloud environment.

Figure 1: Applications are deployed everywhere

Why Multicloud Networking?

Customers can leverage multicloud networking from Cisco to build highly secure connections between applications and environments using a simplified architecture and workflow. This means organizations can easily connect applications from one environment to another at scale while also keeping operations in house to reduce cost. Our multicloud networking capabilities use widely adopted route-based VPN and BGP routing for secure connections and automated network advertisements. These multicloud networking capabilities can be described as:

Site-to-cloud networking: Secure connectivity between the data center and the cloud
Cloud-to-cloud networking: Secure connectivity between clouds

A Closer Look

To build site-to-cloud and cloud-to-cloud connections, customers would leverage Cisco Defense Orchestrator for establishing fully orchestrated and automated IPsec tunnels between environments. The platform uses BGP for optimized, resilient routing, allowing for the secure connection between the data center and the cloud (site-to-cloud) and between clouds (cloud-to-cloud).

When building a site-to-cloud connection, customers would use Cisco Secure Firewall (either physical or virtual appliance) at the data center edge and a Multicloud Defense Gateway at the cloud edge for the beginning and the end of the connection. For multicloud deployments that require cloud-to-cloud connectivity, multiple Multicloud Defense Gateways would be used. Site-to-site and cloud-to-cloud networking capabilities can be supported in both centralized and distributed security models.

The Multicloud Defense Gateway is based on a single-pass architecture and includes VPN code embedded in the data path pipeline. This enables direct termination of route-based IPsec VPN on the egress gateway. Route-based VPN is used with BGP routing for an automated CIDR advertisement. As soon as the IPsec tunnel is terminated on the egress gateway it advertises and learns all the networks using BGP, enabling automated traffic steering.

Figure 2: Multicloud Networking

Site-to-cloud Networking

Cisco Multicloud Defense and Cisco Defense Orchestrator provide an automated way to build highly secure, full-automated VPN tunnels between data centers and cloud environments.

Figure 3: Site-to-cloud networking (centralized security model)

Figure 3 shows that on-premises Secure Firewall appliances (physical or virtual) are managed by Cisco Defense Orchestrator and the Multicloud Defense egress gateways are managed by the Multicloud Defense Controller.

Cisco Defense Orchestrator orchestrates VPN configuration on the on-premises firewalls as well as talks to the Cisco Multicloud Defense Controller using APIs. This API communication between Cisco Defense Orchestrator and the Multicloud Defense Controller enables the orchestration of VPN configuration on the Multicloud Defense egress gateway(s). This approach provides customers with fully orchestrated secure IPsec connections, enabling secure connectivity between the data center and the cloud.

Figure 4: Site-to-cloud networking (distributed security model)

Figure 4 shows how Cisco also supports site-to-cloud networking in a distributed security model using Cisco Defense Orchestrator, Secure Firewall, the Multicloud Defense Controller, and the Multicloud Defense egress gateway.

Cloud-to-cloud Networking

Cisco Multicloud Defense provides an automated way to build highly secure, full-automated VPN tunnels between cloud environments. IPsec tunnels are terminated on the Multicloud Defense egress gateways.

Figure 5: Cloud-to-cloud networking (centralized security model)

Figure 5 shows the application VPC in AWS and the application VNet in Azure are protected using an egress gateway in the centralized deployment model. The Cisco Multicloud Defense Controller orchestrates IPsec VPN between egress gateways in Azure and AWS.

Figure 6: Cloud-to-cloud networking (distributed security model)

Figure 6 shows how Cisco also supports cloud-to-cloud networking in a distributed security model using Cisco Defense Orchestrator, the Multicloud Defense Controller, and multiple Multicloud Defense egress gateways.

The new multicloud networking capabilities add fully orchestrated VPN tunnels where IPsec tunnels are formed between networks advertised in the BGP domain. In addition to secure connectivity, customers need a way to enable threat-centric policies between source and destination subnets. To solve this challenge, Cisco is enabling common security objects across on-premises Cisco firewalls and Multicloud Defense Gateways with the new Hybrid Segmentation feature.

Hybrid Segmentation

For the site-to-cloud connectivity use case, sharing network objects between Secure Firewall, Multicloud Defense, and Cisco Defense Orchestrator simplifies the hybrid segmentation policy creation process for administrators by pooling objects across into one centralized location. This reduces complexity, minimizes human error when creating new objects, and removes duplicative processes.

Static object sharing

Now static network objects can be shared between Cisco Multicloud Defense and the Cisco Defense Orchestrator.

Figure 7: Hybrid Segmentation (Static Object sharing)

Figure 7 shows objects being shared between CDO and Multicloud Defense controller. Object “db” is imported from the CDO and objects “app1-aws” & “app2-aws” are automatically synchronized from the Cisco Multicloud Cloud Defense Controller.

Now administrator can configure the following policies in CDO and the Multicloud Defense Controller:

Policy on CDO and Multicloud Defense Controller: Allow app1-aws, app2-aws access to db

In addition, to secure VPN connectivity features advanced threat security features can also be enabled on Multicloud Defense Egress Gateway.

Conclusion

Modern enterprises are becoming an increasingly complex spiderweb of connections between on-premises datacenters, branch locations, cloud VPCs, cloud regions, and cloud accounts. The traditional approach of doing direct connections between all the networks, or manually managing IPsec connectivity adds a lot of complexity. Cisco has brought together Cisco Defense Orchestrator, Secure Firewall, and Multicloud Defense to manage creating the connectivity across all the environments—ensuring applications can reach the destinations they require. Through these capabilities, customers achieve greater control while reducing cost by bringing operations in-house. In addition to building secure connections, these solutions together also simplify policy creation for customers by way of network object sharing between environments—reducing risk of human error when building policy and minimizing complexity across environments.

If you would like to learn more about how Cisco is driving further innovation across Cisco Defense Orchestrator, Secure Firewall, and Multicloud Defense, be sure to stop by the Innovation Zone at Cisco Live US 2024 or reach out to your Cisco sales representative!

Additional resources:

Cisco Blog on Multicloud Defense Architecture

Cisco Multicloud Webinar

Cisco Multicloud Defense Whitepaper

Cisco Multicloud Defense Website

See how Cisco is leveraging Cisco Defense Orchestrator, Multicloud Defense, and Secure Firewall to securely connect apps from site to cloud and between clouds.

We’d love to hear what you think. Ask a Question, Comment Below, and Stay Connected with Cisco Security on social!

Cisco Security Social Channels

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"}]]  See how Cisco is leveraging Cisco Defense Orchestrator, Multicloud Defense, and Secure Firewall to securely connect apps from site to cloud and between clouds.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Explore the Cisco Cloud Protection Suite, tailor-made for MSPs to combat expanding cloud vulnerabilities. Enhance your SOC with solutions for vulnerability management, attack surface mapping, workload security, and multicloud defense.

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There is no Cloud without a secure network.

As businesses evolve and scale through acquisitions and new ventures, they often find themselves operating within a hybrid multicloud landscape. This expansion, while providing numerous benefits, introduces complex security challenges. As a Managed Services Partner (MSP), you play a crucial role in safeguarding your customers’ operations across their diverse and complex cloud services, all while enabling their digital evolution. One of the biggest challenges of expanding the cloud footprint is that the attack surface widens, and the potential for misconfiguration and exposure of security vulnerability increases. Here, we outline strategies to address these challenges effectively.

The Suite Spot: Streamline Your Security Operations with Cisco

Cisco’s Security Suites are simplifying the way MSPs manage their operations by reducing complexity, and the Cloud Protection Suite specifically caters to hybrid multi-cloud environments. It ensures the consistency and precision of your security policies, minimizes misconfiguration risks, and provides comprehensive protection across data centers and cloud domains. It also facilitates policy management with its centralized controls.

Key Elements of the Cisco Cloud Protection Suite

Cisco Vulnerability Management (formerly Kenna.VM)

Harnessing Talos intelligence and contextual insight, this solution enables you to monitor vulnerabilities, assess their risk based on weaponization potential, and prioritize responses. With features like continuous vulnerability scanning and automated patch management, this tool is indispensable for robust network security.

Cisco Attack Surface Management (formerly Cisco Cloud Secure Insight)

This solution offers cloud inventory and relationship mapping to pinpoint vulnerabilities swiftly. It’s crucial for maintaining a comprehensive view of your multicloud environment and ensuring all cloud-based assets are secure and compliant.

Cisco Secure Workload

Implement zero trust across any application workflow implementing micro-segmentation, behavioral analysis, and automated policy enforcement to curb threat lateral movement and grants in-depth insights into workload behaviors.

Cisco Cloud Application Security

Navigate through cloud-native application security risks and misconfigurations across their lifecycle. This tool integrates with CI/CD pipelines to prioritize risks and offers insights for containerized applications, ensuring your cloud-native applications meet regulatory standards and policies.

Cisco Multicloud Defense

Fortify your entire cloud environment (Public, Private, or hybrid) with a unified control plane that streamlines the deployment of security measures, reduces training time, and minimizes the risk of misconfiguration. Cisco Multicloud Defense ensures consistent security policies across different cloud platforms and provides real-time threat protection and secure connectivity.

The Managed Services Advantage

As a Managed Service Partner, you can start to elevate your offerings by integrating these capabilities into your current Security Operations Center (SOC). This approach allows you to enhance your existing cloud security managed services or incorporate these offerings into the security infrastructure you manage for your customers.

An example to start a Managed Cloud Security offer is to use Managed Vulnerability. You can enhance your Managed Firewall services with smart patching orchestration providing proactive services and leverage the MSLA buying program for Vulnerability Management.

Adding Cloud Protection Suite to your current managed service portfolio gives you a competitive edge. Enable you to effectively address the complex security needs of your customers’ multicloud environments.

Discover more

Learn how to embrace the suite and deliver a comprehensive, risk-aware, and zero-trust security strategy to safeguard your clients’ multicloud operations. Access the Managed Services Voice of the Engineer recording on SalesConnect.

And if you are eager to learn more, register for the upcoming sessions of the  Voice of the Managed Services Engineer,  where we dive into this topic and many more relevant to the Managed Services Partners.

#GoManaged

Register for the upcoming Voice of the Managed Services Engineer Session here!

We’d love to hear what you think. Ask a Question, Comment Below, and Stay Connected with #CiscoPartners on social!

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"}]]  Explore the Cisco Cloud Protection Suite, tailor-made for MSPs to combat expanding cloud vulnerabilities. Enhance your SOC with solutions for vulnerability management, attack surface mapping, workload security, and multicloud defense.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

With Cisco Live 2024 quickly approaching, take a few minutes to get up to speed on the exciting activations within the Cisco Customer Experience booth this year. Learn about the ultimate CX AI sweepstake, our AI-powered photo kiosk, live trivia, and more.

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Cisco Live is quickly approaching and Cisco Customer Experience (CX) has embraced this year’s event theme of Go Beyond. We are sharing a lot at Cisco Live this year, including the sessions and demos I mentioned last week.

Our team has also put together a few additional and exciting engagements to help you experience all Cisco Customer Experience has to offer at Cisco Live 2024. Check out these activations within our booth and be sure to stop by in Las Vegas in June to see these in person.

Virtual Expert Holograms

Our “virtual experts” welcome you into the Cisco Customer Experience booth at Cisco Live, orienting you to our human experts who can demo our services, have deep-dive technical discussions one-on-one, and answer any questions about Cisco’s services portfolio.

The Ultimate CX AI Sweepstakes

If you are attending the event in Las Vegas, as you explore everything Cisco Customer Experience has planned for you, you can participate in The Ultimate CX AI Sweepstakes. You’ll have a chance to win an incredible AI-inspired prize package, featuring an AI-assisted personal robot, an AI-assisted drone, an AI-powered birdhouse, Cisco swag, and a subscription to Cisco U. (all worth a total value of more than $3,000). Learn how to play by visiting the Cisco Customer Experience booth.

Review the rules for all the details.

AI-Powered Photo Kiosk

While you visit the Cisco Customer Experience booth, stop by our AI-powered photo kiosk and have your picture taken! Show the world you’re an AI Guru – or dress like a 70’s rock star. Be sure to share your photo on social media for an entry into the Ultimate CX AI Sweepstakes.

Cisco Customer Experience Live Trivia

On June 3-6, we’re excited to host live trivia in the Cisco Customer Experience Theater inside our booth twice per day with rapid-fire questions about technology based on our Cisco Customer Experience demos and sessions. This is another chance for you to win a great prize so come by and join the competition.

Live Trivia will be held at 12:15 p.m., again at 3:15 p.m. on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, and at 12:15 p.m. on Thursday. You’ll have the opportunity to take home a Yeti Hopper Backpack Cooler to earn a “cool” prize by showing off your knowledge of Cisco Customer Experience. Of course, you can attend our demos and sessions to learn more about Cisco Customer Experience and increase your chances of winning. Hope you’ll join us for one or more Live Trivia sessions, and if you do, here’s a hint: A critical first step for accelerating an organization’s transformation for AI is to build an AI integration roadmap through a readiness assessment.

We have so much valuable information and exciting activations we want to share with you this year at Cisco Live in Las Vegas. I hope you’re looking forward to it. I know our CX team is! Be sure to stay up to speed on all things Cisco Customer Experience at Cisco Live via our blog site.

In the meantime, feel free to leave me a comment or a question below, and stay tuned for more info coming your way as we get close to the start of Cisco Live EMEA on June 2. See you in Las Vegas!

"}]]  With Cisco Live 2024 quickly approaching, take a few minutes to get up to speed on the exciting activations within the Cisco Customer Experience booth this year. Learn about the ultimate CX AI sweepstake, our AI-powered photo kiosk, live trivia, and more.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Learn more about the role of resilient ecosystems and how it can help humans and nature navigate a changing climate.

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Do you feel a bit lost when people refer to certain environmental sustainability topics and aren’t sure where to start when it comes to learning more? Sustainability 101 is a blog series that you can turn to for information about different environmental terms that may come up at work, during discussions with friends, and even at your annual holiday gathering.

“Biodiversity forms the web of life that we depend on for so many things – food, water, medicine, a stable climate, economic growth, among others. Over half of global GDP is dependent on nature. More than 1 billion people rely on forests for their livelihoods. And land and the ocean absorb more than half of all carbon emissions.”

— United Nations: Biodiversity – our strongest natural defense against climate change

When it comes to the health of the planet, resilient ecosystems play a critical role. Resilient ecosystems protect the environment and help support the stability and security of human communities.

But what makes an ecosystem resilient and why is it essential for our future?

Resilient ecosystems 

A common view of resilient ecosystems is the ability to withstand, recover from, and adapt to changes or shocks from natural events, such as earthquakes, or from human-made causes, such as climate change, pollution, or deforestation.

As the world deals with ongoing changes, the term “resilient ecosystems” is becoming a more frequently discussed topic. But more than a buzzword, it’s an increasingly important strategic approach to sustainability. A wider perspective of resilience we can look at in this context includes:

Ecosystems that are able to adapt, survive, and thrive regardless of the disturbances they face.
Providing essential services that support life on Earth—such as purifying water and air, supporting agriculture, maintaining biodiversity, and protecting against natural disasters.

Ecosystems have varying degrees of resilience depending on factors such as the variety and interconnectedness of species within the ecosystem, weather patterns, and temperature levels.  We find examples of naturally resilient ecosystems now becoming strained, from coral reefs to lakes and forests.

As we have seen, ecosystem resilience can be negatively impacted by things like climate change and human-driven deforestation. For example, due to encroachment by human activities, it’s estimated that the Amazon rainforest has lost more than three-quarters of its resilience, making it more vulnerable to extreme events such as droughts. These types of trends are critical to address, given the interwoven balance of carbon stores, biodiversity, and human activity.

Interconnection – At the heart of establishing resilience

From this wider view, at the core of resilient ecosystems is interconnection—not just within the ecological community but also among individuals and societies.

This means moving beyond mere transactions with nature to fostering meaningful relationships with our environment and each other. Building connections and fostering unified responses are crucial for resilience. It’s about creating a world where we support our ecosystems as much as they support us.

The United Nations describes its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as “integrated and indivisible,” recognizing that sustainability efforts must build upon the connections between individuals, communities, and the environment. The SDGs emphasize that progress in one area amplifies the potential in others.

For instance, improving the health of our ecosystems directly supports goals related to health, water, and even economic growth. Recognizing the interdependence of these goals can help prioritize actions that offer the most significant mutual benefits.

When natural ecosystems are protected and preserved, that translates to benefits for the community—such as the ability to earn a living, resources to build schools, access to clean drinking water, and reduction of disease.

How Cisco is advancing resilient ecosystems

Investing in resilient ecosystems is one of the three key priorities of The Plan for Possible, our next-generation environmental sustainability strategy. We believe it is critical to help humans and nature navigate a changing climate by investing in regenerative technologies, workforces, and nature itself.

The Cisco Foundation’s social investment strategy is closely aligned to this priority, particularly through its 10-year, $100 million climate impact initiative.  The Cisco Foundation is supporting resilient ecosystems through both grants and impact investments, directly helping communities cultivate approaches for a regenerative economy, launching climate-focused companies, as well as supporting educational initiatives to help people take effective climate action.

Beyond the Foundation’s climate impact initiative, the Foundation also supports community and ecosystem resilience through investments in other sectors, including Crisis Response and Critical Human Needs, Education, and Economic Empowerment. For example, in 2021, NESsT launched the Amazonia Tech Portfolio with support from Cisco that addresses regenerative forest conservation by supporting climate-smart solutions that grow sustainable value chains while improving livelihoods in the Amazon basin.

Climate adaption and resilience

Cisco’s nonprofit partner Mercy Corps provides an inspiring example of building resilient ecosystems. Mercy Corps partners with communities around the world to help them adapt to their changing environment and innovate to improve their livelihoods—collaborating with partners large and small, global and local.

Our recent five-year Technology for Impact partnership with Mercy Corp reached more than 13 million people across 45 countries, and it has also influenced the broader humanitarian and development sector. Now we have a new partnership that focuses on fostering climate adaptation and resilience.

In the Horn of Africa, where over 20 million people’s lives and livelihoods are being threatened by drought, Cisco is working with Mercy Corps to support pastoralist farmers who have been severely impacted by the drought in Northeast Kenya. You can learn more about our partnership in this video:

Building community skills for resilience

Developing a workforce with the right skills is an important component of building resilient ecosystems and supporting transitions to clean energy.  The Cisco Foundation supports various organizations that are advancing environmental education and initiatives, including  DOT (Digital Opportunity Trust), which supports a youth-led response to the global climate challenge in regions such as Lebanon and Tanzania, and the Pachamama Alliance which focuses on developing skills for local community action and climate justice.

Communities leading the way in resilient ecosystems are those that emphasize a deep connection, working to restore our relationships with the Earth, each other, and ourselves.

By understanding and supporting resilient ecosystems, we can empower vulnerable communities and co-create opportunities for more sustainable and equitable development.

As we continue to face environmental challenges, the need for robust, resilient ecosystems has never been greater. It’s time to foster a broader climate and environmental movement, one that welcomes new ideas, people, and inventive connections.

Together, we can build a resilient future where both people and the planet thrive. Want to learn more and get involved? Check out our Climate Grants and Investments page, for more information.

Photo courtesy of Mercy Corps.

"}]]  Learn more about the role of resilient ecosystems and how it can help humans and nature navigate a changing climate.  Read More Cisco Blogs