This year, my family (including the dogs) loaded up the car and drove into the beautiful Oregon mountains to cut down a Christmas tree. Despite relentless wildfires earlier in the year, we found the… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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This year, my family (including the dogs) loaded up the car and drove into the beautiful Oregon mountains to cut down a Christmas tree. Despite relentless wildfires earlier in the year, we found the perfect survivor tree to take home with us—a symbol of perseverance and prosperity. Going into 2024, I wish the same for you—as our partner—to thrive and prosper. Our momentum is greater together in security.

AI Everywhere: Cisco Security

The tree we brought home from the Oregon forest, decorated for the holiday season.

In the recently released Cisco Talos 2023 Year in Review Report, they saw that ransomware and extortion continue to be a common concern, rate of attacks against network infrastructure devices have escalated, and the activities of advanced persistent threat (APT) actors have increased. As cyber-attacks continue to evolve, our customers’ defenses must, too.

At Cisco Live APJC earlier this month, we announced the new Cisco AI Assistant for Security, which analyzes more than 550 billion security events each day across web, email, endpoints, networks and applications. With this data, the AI Assistant aims to close the gap between cybersecurity intent and outcomes.

First going live is the Cisco AI Assistant for Security within the Cisco Cloud-delivered Firewall Management Center and Cisco Defense Orchestrator to solve the big challenge of setting and maintaining complex policies and firewall rules.

We also announced the AI-powered Encrypted Visibility Engine for all firewall models. Most data center traffic today is encrypted and the inability to inspect encrypted traffic is a key security concern.

We are committed to leading the charge for AI adoption and advancement, and we know our partners are looking to Cisco to help drive this innovation in new solutions and offerings they can take to market to benefit their customers.  With the new capabilities of AI Assistant for Security, our partners will be able to offer a better solution for their customers enabling better efficacy, a better customer experience, and better economics.

“If It’s Connected, It’s Protected”

Cisco works with more machine-driven telemetry and on a scale larger than most in the industry. That’s in part because of our large presence and visibility across network AND security.  We have the network, infrastructure, and expertise to make sure organizations are protected from attacks in a well-rounded way.

To make good on this promise, we’ve opened new roles across sales, engineering, leadership, and support to help win deals alongside our partners, distributor, and MSP stakeholders. These resources will help Cisco’s security and networking platform, combined with partner value-added services, to address our customers’ greatest business and security outcomes.

2023 Reflections

If I reflect on my reasons for joining Cisco, it’s exactly this—the importance of our partners’ critical role in driving security and our ability to deliver even more growth together. Over the course of my entire career, I witnessed the power of the Cisco channel and the professionalism and expertise of Cisco partners. Now, seven months into this role, I am amazed every day at just how accurate that outside perception was. Thank you for everything that you do to ensure our joint success.

On the festive front, I’m ready for a unique AI solution for tangled Christmas lights if anyone has one. I would love the time back unwinding a mess of lights and extension cords every year while my daughter and I string the trees in our yard. Wishing you and your families a very merry holiday season, and I have great faith that 2024 will be our best year yet!

Check out the Cisco Talos 2023 Year in Review Report

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

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  Check out a recap of our latest security announcements from Cisco Live APJC and a reflection on an incredible year with our security partners.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

The end of the year and the start of the next is always a time of retrospection and celebration. In this blog, we’ll take a look back at the key topics and trends that defined the industrial IoT… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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The end of the year and the start of the next is always a time of retrospection and celebration. In this blog, we’ll take a look back at the key topics and trends that defined the industrial IoT journey in 2023.

Security, security, security
Theme of simplify IT for OT
Sustainability
New product innovations
AI for industrial

Security, security, security

Protecting industrial operations from cyberthreats is critical and always top of mind. Empowering our industrial customers to digitize and secure operations at the same time has been prevalent in every conversation this year. As it connects all systems and devices, the network is clearly in the best position to enable a defense-in-depth approach. Combining our deep expertise in both industrial networking and cybersecurity, Cisco has empowered the network to secure operations:

Providing visibility at scale: Cisco networking equipment embed our Cisco Cyber Vision software to provide visibility into OT asset inventories, vulnerabilities, and behaviors without the need for additional appliances or network resources. The Cisco network enables organizations to assess their OT security posture and monitor cyber risks from internal industrial resources.
Containing threats: Segmenting industrial networks to prevent threats from spreading and ensure assets can only communicate with the appropriate resources they need has become much simpler and does not require additional security appliances. The Cisco industrial network benefits from Cisco ISE and Cyber Vision working together to enforce ISA/IEC-62443 zones and conduits.
Controlling secure remote access: Remote access to OT assets is key to run operations. Granting access to external actors can introduce major risks that need to be controlled. With Cisco Secure Equipment Access (SEA), Cisco has brought the zero-trust network access (ZTNA) architecture to industrial operations to eliminate the drawbacks of VPN solutions and risks of unmanaged cellular gateways. And because it’s built into Cisco industrial switches and routers, it’s very simple to deploy at scale. Cisco SEA has been recognized in CRN 2023 Tech Innovators Awards.

Simplify IT for industrial networks

Simplification is a key theme at Cisco; deliver simplicity and scale for IT and operations. We bring simplicity and scale by delivering OT services such as Cyber Vision and Secure Equipment Access from the cloud on the industrial network. Our cloud software services for OT deliver on our vision of Cisco Cloud Networking to provide a simple and consistent experience across all Cisco platforms. For example, single sign-on (SSO) makes it easier to gain access and navigate across Cisco networking platforms. Common user interface and authentication methods bring greater consistency and ease of use for customers to learn and use Cisco networking platforms securely.

Sustainability

Sustainability is a key business priority across industries, and digitization is empowering organizations to achieve their goals. The path to a more sustainable future requires reliable connectivity and visibility into data for better control and management of highly distributed industrial assets. To accelerate the transition to clean energy, the grid operators require updated digital infrastructure. We are helping our customers connect clean energy sources such as wind and solar farms and digitize the grid to accelerate the energy transition. See how we helped ScottishPower Renewables.

New product innovations

Cisco’s commitment to innovation consistently keeps us focused on what’s ahead for industrial networking. We announced innovations to bring more enterprise grade capabilities to the industrial edge.

Cloud-delivered OT services to secure industrial networks at scale: Our industrial customers frequently tell us they often lack skilled resources to secure operations at scale. They need solutions they can easily deploy and operate, especially in the case of highly distributed sites such as roadways or renewable energy production. In 2023, Cisco has made Cyber Vision available as a cloud-based service to help easily gain visibility on OT asset inventories and their security posture. Cisco Secure Equipment Access simplifies managing remote access by centralizing policy configuration and enforcement in a cloud-based service that OT administrators can use.

Expanding network connectivity choices for industrial use cases:

Our new Cisco Catalyst IE3100 Rugged Series switches provide customers secure and faster connectivity for space-constrained use cases.
Connect most critical moving machines and vehicles with Cisco’s first dedicated wireless client, the Cisco Catalyst IW9165E Rugged Access Point and Wireless Client, which comes in a compact form factor for easy integration with AGVs, AMRs and more.
Connect buildings and attach remote devices and moving assets to your network using our secure, ultra-reliable wireless backhaul that is easy to deploy, with the new Catalyst IW9165D Heavy Duty Access Point.

Bottomline, we are helping our customers leverage the industrial network as a platform for innovation to ensure secure operations and unlock more value by enabling access to operational devices and data.

It’s not just what’s ahead but we also looked back at what we’ve achieved. We celebrated a key milestone with 25 years of industrial switching anniversary.

Industrial AI

The AI topic is top of mind for the industrial customer. Industrial AI can unlock remarkable value for organizations and is seen as a key enabler for improving efficiency, reducing costs, enhancing security etc. It can help further enhance IT and OT collaboration. Now industrial AI models require large amounts of industrial data to train its algorithms. Also, once the model is trained, collection and transmission of data needs reliable, secure, high bandwidth, low latency connectivity. Hence for it to work effectively, you need a network that is ready for these demands. Cisco is helping organizations enable their AI use cases at scale by providing best of breed network and security.

Closing thoughts

As we move into 2024, we promise to continue pushing the boundaries driving digital transformation and shaping the future of industrial networks. Watch this blog channel as we continue to evolve our portfolio and bring the future to you. We look forward to seeing some of you at Cisco Live EMEA. To dive deeper into technical topics at Cisco Live, follow our industrial IoT learning maps.

Learn more

Cisco Live EMEA 2024 IoT Learning Maps
CRN 2023 Tech Innovators Awards
ScottishPower Renewables
Cisco Cyber Vision
Cisco Secure Equipment Access
Cisco Catalyst IE3100 Rugged Series
Cisco Catalyst IW9165E Rugged Access Point and Wireless Client
Catalyst IW9165D Heavy Duty Access Point

  Discover key themes that shaped the industrial IoT journey in 2023. From enhancing cyber security to simplifying IT for operations, we're driving digital transformation in industries.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Although there are overlaps in the goals and responsibilities of the CIO and the CISO, there are also challenges that get in the way of a more cohesive relationship, including reporting lines,… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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Although there are overlaps in the goals and responsibilities of the CIO and the CISO, there are also challenges that get in the way of a more cohesive relationship, including reporting lines, organizational structures, budgets, and risk appetites.

If they don’t overcome these challenges, they’ll stall the technology from achieving its full potential, silos will persist, and the rifts will widen.

What’s the aim? Unite these two executive leaders under a common purpose. A panel of CIOs and CISOs identified some of the shifts that can get these two roles working better—together.

Shift #1: Identify the overlaps.

CIOs and CISOs have different jobs to do.

The CISO is the cybersecurity leader who leverages compliance and regulations to protect information and stop data leakages.
The CIO is the enabler of business growth and innovation who makes sure that the organization is getting the most out of the information at hand.

The overlap is their perspective on the “information” part of “information technology.” Specifically, how the CISO’s technical and cybersecurity responsibilities juxtapose the CIO’s growth mindset.

Conflict emerges when CIOs and CISOs look at the IT risks and opportunities as separate responsibilities. This doesn’t make sense to Brian Brackenborough, CISO at Channel 4, who says it is inefficient to separate the many responsibilities that CIOs and CISOs carry.

He said there is no need for separate IT teams to focus on fixing devices while another focuses on networks. Instead, there should be one team managing it across the board.

Shift #2: Overcome the tension in your reporting lines.

Consider both viewpoints of CISOs and CIOs, which is to understand the origins of tension between the roles. Some of this friction can be attributed to reporting structures: when the CISO reports directly to the CIO there is typically less friction, but with more CISOs reporting directly to the CEO with a seat at the board room table, this dynamic changes. The choice of reporting structure could be down to strategic priorities flexing between regulation and innovation phases of the business cycle.

Organizations can choose to approach this dynamic duo differently. Johnson Matthey’s CIO, Aidan Hancock, says the CISO has always reported to him, but that reporting lines can grow and spread out. His focus is making sure the CISO is fully on board with the rest of his IT leadership team.

Equality in reporting lines will be a dead end if CIOs and CISOs don’t share responsibility for risk. That’s not to say they must have identical perspectives—each leads the organization from a different vantage point—but they do need to understand and align.

Shift #3: Align on risk.

Doug Drinkwater, Director of Strategy at HotTopics, suggests that historically, the CISO will be the one to “take the hit” when it comes to risk.

At the top of any organization, the CIO and CISO must be united and share the responsibility for leading risk. Hancock’s main concern is a CISO with an independent reporting line owning risk while “the CIO delivers most of the actions that meet that risk.” His solution to this is for the leaders to find a common purpose.

Shift #4: Work together for a shared purpose.

Anuj Tewari, CISO at TMF Group, looks at collaboration between CIOs and CISOs as a key success factor. The moment they stop working together, everything becomes a challenge. The greater the disconnect, the less optimistic the partnership can be.

The budget exercise was one example where Tewari said he saw CIOs and CISOs work hand in hand. In the end, he maintains that collaboration is about creating a road map to ensure that CISOs and CIOs can secure the data and overall “crown jewel” for the organization. That means consciously overriding our human instinct to stick with our “people.”

For Brackenborough, transparency between the two roles is foundational. He gave the example of the traditional CIO and CISO conferences. An information security conference is full of CISOs and information security professionals. Brackenborough suggests they swap. This way, technology leaders will know what’s happening in each other’s camps and help the CISO and CIO overcome the feeling that they’re talking different languages.

Understanding the overlap in the roles and becoming intentional about reporting lines while aligning on risk and purpose can bring IT organizations closer together. This is ideal because technology is starting to do the same.

The convergence of technology and people

The industry is moving forward and the convergence of networking and security is giving organizations the technology to scale. This shift allows organizations to better support demand, fulfill performance requirements, and allow for deployment of new services, all while securely connecting hyper-distributed teams, places, and things.

Think about security, incident response, and detection paired with the alignment of goals, objectives, and priorities. Modern tools break down the silos between the CISO and CIO so that convergence can take place.

Resultingly, teams can start working together to push forward. CIOs and CISOs get a holistic view of what is going on in the organization they’re leading. With the right tools for the job and doing business with security in mind, there’s a lot of potential to be unlocked.

CIOs and CISOs must clarify roles, responsibilities, and reporting structures. By aligning on risk and purpose they can organize their teams to work better—together.

Register now for a webinar about

Why CIOs and CISOs should work together more closely

  The goals and responsibilities of CIOs and CISOs greatly overlap. What does each executive require from the other for a more aligned technology function?  Read More Cisco Blogs 

The airport experience can be hectic, overwhelming, and stressful. Travelers are navigating long security lines, struggling to arrive at their gate on time, and enduring inevitable flight delays that… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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The airport experience can be hectic, overwhelming, and stressful. Travelers are navigating long security lines, struggling to arrive at their gate on time, and enduring inevitable flight delays that can make for an unrelaxing start to vacation. Furthermore, as we head into the holiday season, airports across the globe are bracing for the last month of 2023 to be the busiest ever.

Travelers understand and expect this chaos. They know that they will be spending a significant amount of time in the airport before and between their flights, which begs the question: How can airport operators create the most enjoyable experience for passengers in their airport?

Exceeding air travelers’ expectations requires a modern, digital experience, one that offers dependable passenger Wi-Fi with seamless onboarding, wayfinding services and reliable applications. Cisco is equipping airports to meet the demands of passengers with a secure, reliable, and intelligent network that enables airports to efficiently deliver relevant information to passengers. One way this is achieved is through Cisco’s partnership with Wipro. 

Airport Digital Signage

Cisco and Wipro are delivering the future of digital signage to airports with Wipro’s cloud-based dynamic digital signage solution, VisionEDGE. With VisionEDGE, every pixel on every screen is centrally managed on premise or in the cloud, which brings more content to screens and more engagement with travelers.

Here is how VisionEDGE is leveraged to entertain and assist travelers from the time they enter the airport to when they board their flight and how its technology is driving new revenue streams for airports around the globe:

Interactive Wayfinding

With numerous airlines, multiple terminals, trains, and more, getting to a gate can be a long and arduous process. Interactive touch screens provide travelers with the opportunity to navigate the airport on their own. For passengers in a rush, this allows them to get to their gate as efficiently as possible. Targeted messaging for promotions can be included on the kiosk screens to drive value-adding engagement and behavior.

Promote Nearest Airport Concessions and Wait Times

Everyone has experienced a tight flight connection paired with the need to grab a bite. Show travelers where to find the nearest restaurants and bars while updating content in real time to deliver relevant and contextual information like coffee locations in the morning and restaurants in the evening. Integrated WaitTime technology lets them know if they have time to get their food before boarding.

Biometric Facial Recognition Boarding

Check-in and security are always the most common friction points in the airport experience. Dynamic content on screens can pair with biometric facial recognition boarding pass technology to greet and direct travelers as they enter the airport creating an efficient check-in and security experience.

Advertising Capabilities

In addition to enhancing the traveler experience, VisionEDGE creates immense revenue opportunities for airports by allowing non-endemic advertisers to access the passenger audience. This allows airport operators to extend offerings beyond designated advertising billboards by adding advertising wraps around Flight ID boards or restaurant TVs, for example.

VisionEDGE’s centralized management system enables airports to deploy advertising in real time, providing a dynamic platform for strategic decision-making. This capability not only adds significant value by ensuring timely and relevant content but also facilitates targeted messaging, optimizing engagement and ultimately driving increased revenue for airports through more effective advertising.

Wipro VisionEDGE

The Airport of the Future

An airport is no longer just a stop on the way from point A to point B. It is a destination that comes with expectations. As air travel volume continues to grow, airports are modernizing to provide travelers with a more positive and safer journey. These goals require technology that can boost agility and enable a constant flow of valuable information to the right people and places at the right times.

Cisco understands this and has collaborated with our partner ecosystem to help deliver such outcomes. Our tested designs and solutions can help you incorporate technology into your infrastructure to deliver a frictionless traveler journey, maintain safety and security, all while driving incremental revenue streams.

More Resources

Cisco Portfolio Explorer for Transportation

Smart & Seamless Airports

Why Cisco for Airports?

The Future of Airport: Coffee & Conversations Podcast

Wipro Expands Sports, Entertainment, Retail and Transportation offerings with launch of Wipro VisionEDGE solution

  Cisco is equipping airports to meet the modern, digital demands of passengers with a secure, reliable, and intelligent network that enables airports to efficiently deliver relevant information to passengers. One way this is achieved is through Cisco’s partnership with Wipro.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

In the ever-evolving landscape of IT, organizations continually seek solutions that simplify complexity, break down silos, and enhance agility. At Cisco, we’re continually tuned into the demands and… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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In the ever-evolving landscape of IT, organizations continually seek solutions that simplify complexity, break down silos, and enhance agility. At Cisco, we’re continually tuned into the demands and requirements of our customer base, and it’s this laser focus that has led to our most recent collaborative venture. We are thrilled to announce our new integration with Nutanix, a leader in enterprise cloud computing solutions.

Listening to You: Our Driving Force

Time and time again, our commitment to delivering top-notch, efficient solutions is fueled by the needs and feedback of our customers. You spoke, and we listened. The partnership with Nutanix is a direct reflection of this two-way dialogue, a testament to our commitment to not just hear, but actively listen and respond to what you are saying.

Bridging the Gap with ACI VMM Integration

One of the key facets of this collaboration is the integration of Cisco’s Application Centric Infrastructure (ACI) Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) with Nutanix. This marriage of technologies effectively bridges domain silos between the network and server teams. Network configurations and server deployments, historically segmented tasks, can now be coordinated more efficiently, fostering a more agile and responsive infrastructure. This integration is designed to simplify operational complexities, promoting a more streamlined and efficient operational workflow.

Cisco ACI: Beyond Traditional Networking

Before we jump into the integration, let’s re-familiarize ourselves with Cisco ACI:

APIC (Application Policy Infrastructure Controller): It’s not just a management tool; think of it as the brain behind the orchestration of network policies.
Spine and Leaf Architecture: This ensures a swift and efficient flow of data, connecting all aspects of the data center seamlessly.
Policies: The linchpin of ACI, these pre-defined functionalities ensure the network is adaptive and responsive to specific needs.

Why Nutanix?

Nutanix is a frontrunner when it comes to hyperconverged infrastructure, bringing together compute, storage, and virtualization under one roof. Their solution, which focuses on simplicity and scalability, offers an ideal playground for ACI’s capabilities. Integrating with Nutanix’s VMM functions ensures that ACI’s policy-driven approach aligns perfectly with the agility and dynamism of virtualized workloads.

The Power of Integration

Holistic Visibility: ACI’s already granular insight extends into Nutanix environments. Network administrators can track activities from the physical infrastructure up to individual VMs in the Nutanix cluster.

Elastic Networking: As virtual machines and workloads shift within the Nutanix ecosystem, ACI adapts, ensuring network policies remain consistent and effective.

Enhanced Security Posture: ACI’s renowned micro-segmentation, when combined with Nutanix’s security features, offers a formidable defense against malicious activities and breaches.

Unified Management: With APIC interfacing directly with Nutanix’s Prism management, it consolidates the administrative experience, simplifying operations.

Getting Started with ACI and Nutanix

Integration at a glance:

Kickstart with a robust ACI environment and an operational Nutanix cluster.
Through APIC, navigate to VM Networking, and add a VMM domain specific to Nutanix.
Detail out the Nutanix cluster specifications and correlate with ACI’s bridge domain.
Watch as ACI seamlessly integrates its policies with Nutanix, creating a cohesive networking environment.

Joint Commitment to Customer Success

Both Cisco and Nutanix are firmly committed to jointly supporting our customers. Our shared goal is to deliver the best infrastructure automation experience possible. By harmonizing the strengths of ACI’s policy-driven architecture with Nutanix’s prowess in hyperconverged infrastructure, we aim to offer a solution that epitomizes efficiency, simplicity, and most importantly, customer satisfaction.

In Conclusion

The integration of Cisco’s ACI with Nutanix marks a pivotal moment in data center networking. It signifies a future where the physical and virtual, the network and the application, are in perfect harmony. For enterprises looking for agility, security, and simplicity, this integration opens up new vistas of possibilities.

Learn more about the Cisco and Nutanix partnership

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

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  At Cisco, we're continually tuned into the demands and requirements of our customer base, and it's this laser focus that has led to our most recent collaborative venture. We are thrilled to announce our new integration with Nutanix, a leader in enterprise cloud computing solutions.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Cyberattacks on electric power utilities are on the rise. From 2020 to 2022, weekly attacks more than doubled. An attack that exploits a vulnerability in intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) like… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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Cyberattacks on electric power utilities are on the rise. From 2020 to 2022, weekly attacks more than doubled. An attack that exploits a vulnerability in intelligent electronic devices (IEDs) like power distribution units, relay, and circuit breakers can turn off the lights in a neighborhood or entire city. On the surface, it seems simple enough to remediate vulnerabilities as soon as they’re reported—for example, by upgrading firmware. Fact is, detecting and remediating vulnerabilities in operational technology (OT) poses a supersized challenge for utilities.

Take CPFL Energia, a Brazilian utility with 10.3 million customers. CPFL wanted to boost the security posture at its 600+ distribution substations, where high-voltage electricity is transformed to lower voltage for distribution to homes and businesses. The roadblock? You can’t secure what you can’t see, and CPFL’s operations team was in the dark about exactly what IEDs were deployed in substations. Just setting foot in a substation in Brazil requires a lengthy approval process, so some substations hadn’t been visited for months. OT visibility became urgent In 2021, when national grid operator ONS required utilities to conduct a cybersecurity vulnerability assessment.

Operations and IT teams join forces

The utility’s operations team knew it didn’t have cybersecurity know-how to assess and mitigate risk. The IT team had the cybersecurity know-how but didn’t understand the finer points of substation operations, like which industrial protocols could be blocked to shrink the attack surface. So, operations and IT decided to team up, pooling their strengths. The IT team saw the OT security project as an opportunity to meet another longstanding goal—upgrading the aging switches at substations to take advantage of advances like power over ethernet (PoE) and management automation.

OT visibility and switching in one box, with Cisco industrial switches

CPFL accomplished both goals—vulnerability assessment and network modernization—with one solution, Cisco industrial switches. Included on the switches is Cisco Cyber Vision, a software which automatically identifies all industrial and IT assets connected to the network, including detailed characteristics and communication activities. The two-in-one solution is much simpler and less costly than CPFL’s other alternatives: buying separate visibility appliance for each substation or else replicating network traffic to a control center with a centralized visibility appliance. Cisco’s industrial switches meet utilities’ stringent requirements, including the ability to withstand harsh environments, IEC 61850 certification to operate in high-voltage environments, and support for industrial protocols like DNP3 and Modbus TCP/IP.

Immediate payoff: 20 malware infections discovered

Today every transmission and distribution substation has been upgraded to Cisco Catalyst IE3400 Rugged Series switches with built-in Cyber Vision. With a glance at the Cyber Vision console, CPFL’s operations team can view a detailed inventory of all connected IEDs and workstations, including their software vulnerabilities.

“Right away Cyber Vision identified more than 20 cases of malware in the OT network, as well as many unneeded communication activities and protocols we could shut down to reduce the attack surface,” said Emerson Cardoso, CPFL’s chief information security officer. “We now have visibility into our critical grid network, the first step toward mitigating vulnerabilities and improving our security posture.”

Real-time alerts: the ones that count

CPFL’s security analysts now receive real-time alerts about critical events because CPFL integrated Cyber Vision with its security information and event management (SIEM) system. To avoid alert fatigue and make sure critical events are addressed quickly, the IT and OT teams worked together to define 20 types of security events that generate alerts. “Cyber Vision helped us overcome the challenge of integrating OT into our security operations center (SOC),” explains Cardoso. “Our security analysts now have visibility across both IT and OT to act on the alerts, manage risks, and enforce security policies throughout our networks.”

While deploying the new Cisco industrial switches, CPFL also deployed Cisco Secure Firewalls to filter industrial network traffic between substations and control centers. This gave IT the ability to contain malicious activities and avoid threats to spread to the entire infrastructure in the case a breach occurs.

Award-winning project benefiting operations, IT, and customers

With its new Cisco industrial switches, Cyber Vision, and Cisco firewalls, CPFL solved multiple challenges that utilities have struggled with for years. Operations teams gained visibility into grid assets and complied with a new regulation for vulnerability assessment and risk management. IT modernized substation networks and can monitor and contain threats to transmission and distribution operations.

The Brazilian cybersecurity community has taken note, recognizing CPFL and Emerson Cardoso as National Security Leaders of 2023. The award calls out CPFL’s comprehensive approach to cybersecurity and effective collaboration between OT and IT. In Cardoso’s words, “Having robust cybersecurity protections not only helps mitigate risks and protect our employees, it also ensures we can better serve our customers.”

Read the full case study here.

Learn more

Cisco Cyber Vision
Cisco Industrial Ethernet Switches

  Utilities face stricter cybersecurity regulations and increasing cyberthreats. Learn how CPFL Energia’s OT and IT teams secured grid operations with Cisco Cyber Vision, built into Cisco industrial switches.  Read More Cisco Blogs