St. Louis CITY SC could hardly have asked for a more picture-perfect inaugural season — a first-place finish in the Western Conference and the top seed in the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs. As CITYPARK opens … Read more on Cisco Blogs

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St. Louis CITY SC could hardly have asked for a more picture-perfect inaugural season — a first-place finish in the Western Conference and the top seed in the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs. As CITYPARK opens its gates to host playoff matches for the first time, the season has already been one for the history books, in no small part thanks to a fruitful partnership between CITY and Cisco.

Earlier this year, Cisco was named a Proud Technology Partner of CITY SC, with a shared vision between the organizations to make CITYPARK and the wider campus a must-see destination to not only watch a match, but also one of the most connected and fan-centric environments in Major League Soccer. Anchored by a state-of-the-art, fully converged network across the 31-acre stadium district and next-generation Wi-Fi 6 technology, CITYPARK has established itself as an elite venue not only within MLS but among all of sports.

For Cisco, connecting and protecting sports and entertainment venues of all shapes and sizes has been a key part of our business for more than decade. From SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles and State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona — home of the last two Super Bowls — to GEODIS Park in Nashville, Santiago Bernabéu Stadium home of Real Madrid FC and more, we partner with hundreds of venues, teams and organizations in the world to deliver secure, seamless connectivity for fans and stadium operators.

But for now, we will be cheering on our partners in St. Louis as they continue their historic season. ALL FOR CITY!

  St. Louis CITY SC could hardly have asked for a more picture-perfect inaugural season — a first-place finish in the Western Conference and the top seed in the 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs. As CITYPARK opens its gates to host playoff matches for the first time, the season has already been one for the history books,  Read More Cisco Blogs 

I think about mental health a lot. It’s funny – you don’t think about it at all until it starts failing you. Then, it’s pretty much all you can think about. I consider myself lucky, though, because I … Read more on Cisco Blogs

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I think about mental health a lot. It’s funny – you don’t think about it at all until it starts failing you. Then, it’s pretty much all you can think about. I consider myself lucky, though, because I don’t have to pretend that I’m feeling fabulous when I’m not, and I can speak openly about some struggles that I face. I’m grateful that mental health is a conversation the world is having; it’s comforting to know that I’m not alone, and that there is hope.

Between the World Mental Health Day and Movember, I had a chat with Mario Sebastian, VP at Cisco CX EMEA South. I really appreciated his authenticity sharing his journey.

Mario Sebastian, VP at Cisco CX EMEA South

10th of October is the World Mental Health Day and the shift to prioritizing mental health that we’ve been seeing for the past couple of years was really echoed in this year’s theme, Mental health is a universal human right. What does this theme mean to you?

Mario: I believe mental health is just as important, or in some cases even more important than physical health. Strong mental health and resilience can help you endure someof the physical challenges.

You wouldn’t tell someone with a broken leg to just get over themselves or drink more water, but this is what we often hear in relation to mental health.

Mario: Absolutely, and as a result, when it comes to our mental health, sometimes we don’t feel open to share our challenges. We worry others might see it as a weakness. This proves to be true with many men who experience mental health challenges but dismiss their feelings and don’t seek help. They feel pressured by the society and their environment to stay strong and hide their problems. This can make the healing process difficult, as it is key to recognise and acknowledge that we are not well, and we should be able to talk about our challenges both with our friends and family, as well as – if we want to, at work. I think it starts with the leaders, they need to create an environment where people can speak freely and feel safe talking about their troubles. At the same time, I think leaders should allow themselves to be vulnerable and open about their own challenges with their teams. Don’t shy away from having these conversations, as difficult as they may be.

Mental health is something that we take very seriously at Cisco, and we recently celebrated the company wide Mental Health Awareness Week with the theme of Mental Health Unites Us – Shared Emotions, Unique Journeys. As the sponsor of the Mindfulness and Resilience community at Cisco… What journey has led you there? Why is this topic so important to you personally?

Mario: Today, I practice a number of healthy habits like sports, yoga, eating nutritious food, as well as meditation. Each day I allocate some time for my own mindful moments, as it helps me find the balance and keep both my body and soul healthy. In the past I didn’t pay much attention to it. Sometimes you really need to hit a wall to recognise you need help, and I found myself at that point a few years ago. I was lucky to get support from my wife and a good friend of mine, who introduced me to the world of meditation and yoga. I started to listen to my body and my mind, and I feel much healthier now. It’s not always perfect; it’s ups and downs, and it’s important to be mindful and aware of those moments when you are not feeling great, and you might need to ask for help from a trusted person or a professional. At the same time, hitting that wall helped me become a more conscious leader. I want to help people embrace the journey to a healthy body and mind.

Leaders should allow themselves to be vulnerable and open about their own challenges with their teams. Don’t shy away from having these conversations, as difficult as they may be.

As someone who has been on a mental health journey for quite a while, I completely agree with what you said about recognising that you might need change or help. It all starts with awareness, cause it’s only when you are aware of the problem that you can actually do something about it.

Mario: And that’s precisely why it’s so important to foster an environment, at home, with your friends, and at work, where everyone can show up as they are. We are not robots, we have feelings and emotions, and we shouldn’t have to hide them. It’s like what we said earlier: when your body is unwell, you go to a doctor. Why would you treat your mind any different and ignore or hide the problem? We must continue to raise awareness and normalising mental health problems, so that one day we won’t have to hit the rock bottom to finally get help we need.

We are human, and throughout our lives we experience ups and downs. Sometimes, it’s because things don’t work in our favour, but sometimes it may seem we have it all – a good career, happy family, health, hobbies… And yet we don’t feel good. To make it worse, sometimes we don’t allow ourselves to address it, as if our feelings are not valid.

Regardless of the factors that undermine our mental health, it’s important that we acknowledge and speak up about our issues. If you are struggling with your mental health, please don’t let fear of judgement, shame or anything else stop you from getting the help you need. Talk to someone you trust or a professional and remember, that you deserve to be happy.

  Between the World Mental Health Day and Movember, I had a chat with Mario Sebastian, VP at Cisco CX EMEA South. I really appreciated his authenticity sharing his journey.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, Cindy Valladares and Laura Elena Garza discussed their experiences as Latinas in tech. Valladares, director of brand strategy, customer advocacy, and… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, Cindy Valladares and Laura Elena Garza discussed their experiences as Latinas in tech. Valladares, director of brand strategy, customer advocacy, and storytelling at Cisco security, and Garza, manager of the Site Reliability Engineering Delivery team for Cisco Duo, hadn’t met before but quickly connected over how their cultures have impacted their lives and careers and how they both currently call the Pacific Northwest home. If you also value connection, authenticity, and giving back at work, visit our open roles.

Cindy during a customer video shoot, taking it all in

Family, history and heritage

How would you describe what you do to your non-tech tío/uncle?

Cindy Valladares: The way I like to explain it to my non-technical family and friends, is that I tell stories. Whether they are stories where our customer is the hero or brand stories that showcase what Cisco does in cybersecurity to make a safer world, we connect with our audience and create experiences for them to see Cisco as a leading cybersecurity vendor.

Laura Elena Garza: I love storytelling, so I’m already hooked. As site reliability engineers, we are the first responders who take care of everything that comes between our production environment, our clients, and then our engineers working at Duo. One of our main responsibilities is to make sure we build, maintain and keep our production ecosystem secure and running. We are also always looking forward, building our next gen architecture. A good way to put it is that we make sure that all the products our engineers build for our customers find a secure, stable and reliable home to live in.

Cindy Valladares: This conversation is in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, and the Latinx community is very diverse.

Please tell us about your heritage so we can learn a little bit about you and your culture.

Laura’s uncle Gabriel Martinez, younger brother Virgilio Martinez, Laura, her grandmother Maria Elena and Laura’s husband Jorge Garza

Laura Elena Garza: I was born and raised in Mexico City or Ciudad de México. The richness of our Mexican culture is very palpable. You see it in every corner — from the food, to the pyramid remains downtown, to the music. All my memories are somehow related to food! My favorite memory is Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). You can feel the magic in the air, there is so much love and reverence for our ancestors.

Replica Quetzalcoatl Temple Teotihuacan, (Museo Nacional de Antropologia (National Museum of Anthropology), Mexico City

For the longest time, living here in the States, I used to feel that I did not truly belong here nor there. I used to disregard my culture and who I truly am to fit in. It took some time to get to know and love myself. Yes, my story starts in Mexico City, but it has become an extraordinary blend of cultures and many different experiences. I now live in a Pacific Northwest forest, where I find great joy. I get to view the world through my diverse lenses, and I have grown to know that this is a great gift and a strength.

Laura enjoying chilaquiles.

Cindy Valladares: I’m originally from Guatemala, born and raised in Guatemala City. That’s still where I call home and where a piece of my heart will always reside. All my extended family is down there. And in our culture, like you said, the warmth, the community, the family, everything is surrounded by food.

Cindy, her husband, and children in Guatemala

My mother’s side of my family is from Chinese descent and my dad’s side is from German descent. My grandmothers are from Guatemala, not Indigenous, but from Spanish descent. Latin America is indeed very diverse and rich in culture and traditions. That’s the beauty of our Latinx community.

Impacts of culture on career

How has your culture impacted your career journey?

Laura Elena Garza: At the beginning, it was rough. Especially in tech and as a woman, you often find yourself as the only one who looks like you, with no community. At the beginning of my career, I was not as secure nor loved the person I am. You try to fit in because you think that that’s the way to get acceptance and move forward within your career.

An interesting switch happened to me about a decade ago, when, unapologetically, I started to love who I am. I started to embrace that I am a strong woman who also is vulnerable and emotional. I started to look within my history, my abuela for example. She is the matriarch of our family, she’s the strongest and most resilient person I know.

Once I embraced my whole self, I saw a switch in my career. More people gravitated to that. People gravitate towards authenticity. It’s a beautiful thing: you open the door for others to embrace their unique selves and see how beautiful and wonderful they are. I see it right now within my team. They are a wonderful group of humans who come from different stages of life, different education, different cultures. It is such a powerful thing to be a part of.

Members of Laura’s team, Mary Mercado, Aditya Mudunuri, Grant Wasil, and Jose Then

Cindy Valladares: You talked about embracing your true self, and that’s not always easy when you have to fit into a mold or a culture or an environment. How did you make that leap into being comfortable?

Laura Elena Garza: It wasn’t easy. Most of the time, I found myself suppressing the fire in me. I am a very passionate person. I feel a lot. As I started my career, I suppressed that. You don’t want to be the stereotype, the boisterous Latin woman who feels a lot and is not respected.

When I saw the switch happen, I had a lot of help. Therapy is a wonderful thing, so I recommend everybody go to it. I started embracing it and using it as one of my strengths. I’m emotional because I care deeply.

Cindy Valladares: It’s your superpower.

“Let it fly, because this is who I am. I like myself and I’m here for it.”
– Laura Elena Garza

Laura Elena Garza: Yeah, I accept myself with all my flaws, and some of the things that I used to see as flaws are actually my strengths. In the past I thought, “People need to see you strong. They cannot see you tear up when you’re happy.” Now, I say to myself, “Let it fly, because this is who I am. I like myself and I’m here for it.”

Cindy with Advisory Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Richard Archdeacon, Product Marketing Leader Steve Ragan and Advisory CISO Dave Lewis

Cindy Valladares: I have a similar experience in that my family is also matriarchal. The women are the driving forces behind our family. We have very strong personalities and are very passionate about the things that we believe in. I’ve also had to suppress some of that in the past, making sure that I led with poise and not always show my vulnerabilities. But being real and authentic helps people get closer to you.

I’ve had the great opportunity of leading teams that are very diverse and come from a variety of backgrounds — people who have had a career in marketing, people who have had a career in education, people who have had different experiences. I always encourage us to learn from one another.

Everybody has a different lived experience and it creates this beautiful piece of art. I always like to approach my career, my journey, the teams, like that: a beautiful mosaic where we all can learn from each other and build something great together.

Unifying + giving back as Latinas in tech

Cindy Valladares: My personal belief is that as we have certain benefits, certain privileges, we have the opportunity to give back and pay it forward. What has your experience been with leveraging Time2Give, a benefit where we are given time to contribute to causes we care about?

Laura’s dog, Alfie Cornelius Garza

Laura Elena Garza: Time2Give is such a fantastic perk that we have here in Cisco. We are given hours to go and make an impact in our community. I’m very passionate about nature, so I make sure there’s time for me to help with the trails. I am also so lucky that I get to live by the beach, so we have beach cleanup days that make an impact in the everyday ecosystem.

Cindy Valladares: Time2Give is one of my favorite benefits. I live in Portland and volunteer with my family at Blanchet House, an organization that serves three meals a day, six days a week to people experiencing homelessness. I always raise my hand to bring meals to the guests because I can look the guests in their eyes and wish them a wonderful day. That’s one of my favorite things to do.

Laura Elena Garza: I’m very appreciative of your time, Cindy. In my career, I haven’t seen others like me. It’s such a powerful gift that you’re giving me, just being in this conversation. I have somebody like you, so I really appreciate you.

Celebrating our Cybersecurity Defender of the Year during Cisco Live

Cindy Valladares: I love my culture, and I love to share it with others. Just the opportunity to meet one new person, Laura, that’s just wonderful. Thank you for the opportunity to get to know you and share a little bit about our culture and celebrate our heritage month. Now, together, we can join forces and help others advance their career and open more doors.

Laura Elena Garza: I like to say, let’s make good trouble because I love to make good trouble.

Interested in work that matters?

To join our team, visit our open opportunities. Stay tuned for more insights from Cindy and Laura about the importance of career mentorship.

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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  Learn about the professional journeys of Latina leaders, Cindy Valladares and Laura Elena Garza, and how culture has impacted their lives.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

It’s hard to believe that Cisco Partner Summit 2023 is right around the corner in Miami Beach, Florida on November 6th – 9th. Yes, you read that correctly. For the first time since 2017, we’re in a ne… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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It’s hard to believe that Cisco Partner Summit 2023 is right around the corner in Miami Beach, Florida on November 6th – 9th. Yes, you read that correctly. For the first time since 2017, we’re in a new location—lovely Miami Beach. It’s shaping up to be a great event, and I’m thrilled to get the opportunity to meet with many of our security partners onsite.

The theme for this year is “Greater Together,” which really speaks to the importance and value of our partnerships and how partners play an integral role in helping us power a secure, inclusive future for all. I’d like to highlight some of the key security sessions you don’t want to miss and give a sneak preview to some of the security announcements we will be making onsite. If you are planning on attending #CiscoPS23, our security leadership team would love to see you.

Mark Your Calendar for Security

Day 1: Tuesday, November 7

Global Keynote: Jeetu Patel, Executive Vice President of Security & Collaboration will be part of the Day 1 Keynote session on Tuesday, November 7th from 9:00a.m. – 11:00a.m. ET.
Geo Sessions: You’ll see Cisco Security executive presence in each of the GEO sessions following the keynote.
Security Business Impact Session: Make sure you register for our security-focused Business Impact Session (BIS05) taking place on Tuesday, November 7, from 3:45p.m.–4:30p.m. ET. In that session entitled “Cisco Security: Making It Easier to Sell More,” you’ll hear from Emma Carpenter, Security Chief Revenue Officer, Tom Gillis, SVP & GM, Cisco Security and Brian Feeney, VP, Global Security Partner Sales. For those attending the Cisco Partner Summit 2023 Live Digital Broadcast, BIS05 will be available to view on-demand via the Partner Launch Experience beginning the week of November 13.

Day 2: Wednesday, November 8

Security & Collaboration Leadership Insight Session: There will be an amazing opportunity on Wednesday, November 8, from 11:00a.m.–11:45a.m. to attend our Security & Collaboration Leadership Insight Session (LIS03) where partners will get to engage in an open forum to ask top-of-mind questions to the security leadership team.

Throughout the event, we have a number of 1:1 meetings planned, and we are looking forward to connecting with our strategic security partners onsite.  And make sure you stop by the Partner Hub to see some of our security solutions in action!

If you are not able to attend Partner Summit in-person, then fear not. You can live stream the keynote sessions and access the recordings of all the onsite sessions via the Cisco Partner Summit 2023 Live Digital Broadcast, which is fully integrated with the Partner Launch Experience.  There will be a wealth of on-demand and supplemental content to engage with via the Partner Launch Experience, open to all Cisco Partners.

Learn How Security is Greater Together

As a leader in enterprise networking and security, Cisco sees 80% of the world’s network traffic moving across our customers’ infrastructure. It’s with this level of visibility that we understand the need for scale, speed, and performance not just for our customers but for our partners too. But complexity continues to be an issue.

At Cisco Partner Summit 2023, you will hear how we are simplifying our security portfolio making it easier for our customers to reach their security outcomes, while making it easier and profitable for you to sell. You will also hear how we are continuing to accelerate our security innovation in our open, integrated platform—the Cisco Security Cloud—leveraging AI and ML functionality across networking and security to benefit key solutions like Cisco XDR, Cisco Secure Access, Multicloud Defense, Cisco Secure Firewall and Cisco Duo.

You can get more details about these announcements next week by visiting the Launches & Announcements partner community page. We want to enable you, our partners, to continue to have outcome-focused conversations with your customers and help them build an integrated security strategy while providing strong security margins to you. So, stay tuned to learn more next week at #CiscoPS23.

Live stream the Cisco Partner Summit 2023 Keynote on November 7th

Register for the Cisco Partner Summit 2023 Live Digital Broadcast

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

Cisco Partners Facebook  |  @CiscoPartners Twitter  |  Cisco Partners LinkedIn

  Cisco Partner Summit 2023 is almost here, and we are gearing up to be “Greater Together.” See how you can learn more about what’s new and exciting from Cisco Security.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Co-authored by Morgan Bright

Bringing in the New Urban Era: SCEWC23

The new normal is upon us, and an inclusive future is no longer just a utopian dream; the new urban era is here, and the importance… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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Co-authored by Morgan Bright

Bringing in the New Urban Era: SCEWC23

The new normal is upon us, and an inclusive future is no longer just a utopian dream; the new urban era is here, and the importance of a connected community has never been more evident. In this new era, cities are grappling with numerous challenges; November 7th-9th in Barcelona, the Smart City Expo World Congress will present its grandest edition yet, showcasing a human-centric urban revolution. The primary objective is to foster a global movement that unites governments in pursuing innovative solutions to confront the pressing challenges of our times. This event seeks to empower communities worldwide to collectively drive urban innovation and address the critical issues that our world faces today.

Cisco is uniquely positioned to be the bridge between envisioning a better future and creating it. At the core of Cisco’s mission lies a commitment to people, ensuring equitable access to data-driven, sustainable solutions to help transform communities, powering opportunity and creating a more equitable future.

Explore the Booth

Book a booth tour or 1:1 meeting. Our team of subject matter experts are ready to discuss your organization’s priorities and technology needs. Contact your Cisco account representative directly to request a meeting or click here to request a meeting yourself.
Enjoy a complimentary coffee in our Café Cisco. We’ll bring the caffeine! Grab a complimentary beverage at Café Cisco and sit down with our team for a deep dive to talk about your current business challenges.
Learn from experts in the Cisco in-booth theater. The Cisco in-booth theater will host over 42 public sector experts and innovators for 15-minute, high-impact presentations. From learning how to leverage broadband infrastructure to building cyber security into smart cities, we guarantee you will learn something new in our theater. Click here to view our full theater schedule.
Visit our onsite demos. Our booth will feature 9 rotating demos featuring the following topics: communities reimagined, community use cases and the technology behind them, security resilience for communities, the future of work for government, power of the platform, connected transportation infrastructure, the path to full stack observability, and sovereign cloud. You can learn more about these demos and related speaking sessions here.
Attend our marquee theater presentations. This year, we’ve added two powerful 45-minute marquee theater presentations.
Local Governments Reimagining Workforce and Smart Public Spaces | Tuesday, November 7th | Session 13:00 local time
This 45-minute discussion features CXOs representing Fort Worth, TX, and Cary, NC, – two leading municipalities differentiating themselves in their rapid growth and pioneering spirit in leveraging technology to transform how local governments serve residents. Moderated by Cisco’s Vice President of U.S. State, Local Governments, and Education (SLED), the conversation will explore innovative approaches to government workforce and how technology is transforming physical city spaces.

Local Government and Industry: Building Resilient Cities Together | Wednesday, November 8th | Session 10:30 local time.
This 45-minute panel discussion, moderated by Cisco’s Vice President of U.S. State, Local Governments, and Education (SLED), explores how U.S. cities are seamlessly integrating technology into their urban strategies across various sectors. The session will feature leading U.S. mayors who are pioneers in the application of transformative technology and intelligent infrastructure. The panel will focus on critical challenges facing city leadership and explore the potential for synergies between industry and local governments in building resilient cities.

Happy hour! Join us in the Cisco booth for food and beverage experience sponsored by AppDynamics.
Wednesday, November 8th | 18:00-19:00 local time

We look forward to meeting at Smart City Expo World Congress 2023 and showing you how Cisco’s innovative solutions lay the foundation for a more connected, secure and sustainable future in cities and communities!

  If you’re joining Cisco onsite at Smart City Expo World Congress 2023 (Stand D111, Hall 2) you can expect to learn more about the trends impacting the government industry and how Cisco technology can help you meet the challenges of today. Learn more about Cisco onsite at Smart City Expo World Congress.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

In just a few days, we will all be together for Cisco Partner Summit 2023, at the Miami Beach Convention Center, November 6-9, 2023. I am incredibly excited about this year’s theme of Greater… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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In just a few days, we will all be together for Cisco Partner Summit 2023, at the Miami Beach Convention Center, November 6-9, 2023. I am incredibly excited about this year’s theme of Greater Together, the content we have prepared, and the opportunity to connect with many of you in person again.

Today, I will give you a preview of what you can expect for content and updates related to Hybrid Work and Cisco’s focus on Re-Imagining Workspaces. For logistical details, agendas, and FAQS, please click here.

Business Impact Sessions, Keynotes, & More

Cisco Collaboration: Rocket Fuel for Growth on 11/8
With speakers Kristyn Hogan, Javed Khan, Brett Harrison, and Astronaut Col. Eileen Collins

Grow with Green on 11/8
With speakers Denise Lee & Andrew Sage

Global Keynotes on 11/8 & 11/9
Our executive leaders detail Cisco’s strategy and innovation and how we align our GTM strategy to accelerate growth in key routes to market.

Leader Insight Session: Win Together with Cisco Security & Collaboration on 11/8
Jeetu Patel will join the Executive Leadership to represent Collab & Security.

Virtual Broadcast: Partner Launch Experience
All partners and employees are invited to attend the Partner Summit 2023 Live Digital Broadcast and on-demand content. Register here.

 Partner Showcase

The Technology Showcase in the Partner Hub is an immersive, partner-tailored conversation space. This year, we are focusing on three immersive scenarios:

Government vignette: Experience a representation of a re-imagined secure community for a municipal government.
Manufacturing vignette: View an example of a fully connected smart factory.
Financial services vignette: See a sample of the bank branch of the future through both the customer and employee perspectives.
Ingredients for partner success: Engage in these topics via Subject Matter Experts at our Genius Bar, or dive independently into immersive experiences with VR headsets.

 November 6th Auxiliary Session- Smart, Sustainable Workspaces with Secure Networking

How we work has changed forever. For us to be successful in this transformation, greater collaboration between Real Estate, HR, and IT decision-makers is needed to ensure space is a platform to realize the company’s enterprise goals. This session will provide clear examples of how Cisco is approaching our real estate strategy (spoiler alert: it’s not about real estate), including the data and outcomes we are now seeing. We will also provide you with best practices for you to consider within your organization and your customers around the following areas:

How the next era of convergence will come in the form of energy and sensor networking.
The importance of accessing new lines of business, including real estate, facilities, HR, and ESG leaders, as a catalyst for transformation and access to new wallets.
How a technology lead approaches the design and construction process reduces embodied carbon and lowers energy costs, accelerating your customer’s net zero journey.
How to leverage data aggregated in your customer’s environment with the Cisco Spaces platform, which guides them in right-sizing their real estate portfolio to attract and retain talent.

Hybrid Work Partner Enablement Resources

There are a few exciting new resources that will be available to partners starting at Partner Summit. See below for more information on the content available to support you and your customers in your hybrid work journey.

Cisco Partner Journeys – Re-imagine Workspaces with Hybrid Work
Cisco Partner Journeys is an interactive experience that guides you through Cisco tools, resources, and processes to help you achieve outcomes faster. At Cisco Partner Summit, we are launching a journey specific to Hybrid Work to help you step through this complexity and help you access enablement based from three different angles:
Customer personas & level hybrid work investment
Customer outcomes
Technology – EN, Collab, and Cisco Spaces

Re-Imagining Workspaces with Hybrid Work on SalesConnect
We’ve launched a new page for Partners on SalesConnect, Re-Imagining Workspaces with Hybrid Work. This page will serve as your source of truth for content related to Hybrid Work programs, incentives, training, updates, and more. Please bookmark this page and check back often for the most updated content and resources.

See You Soon!

As we delve deeper into these topics at Cisco Partner Summit, you’ll gain valuable insights into the future of Hybrid Work and how Cisco is leading the way in Re-imagining Workspaces. We can’t wait to see you there!

Register for the Cisco Partner Summit 2023 Live Digital Broadcast!

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

Cisco Partners Facebook  |  @CiscoPartners Twitter  |  Cisco Partners LinkedIn

  In just a few days, we will all be together for Cisco Partner Summit 2023, at the Miami Beach Convention Center, November 6-9, 2023. I am incredibly excited about this year's theme of Greater Together, the content we have prepared, and the opportunity to connect with many of you in person again. Today, I will give you a preview of what you can expect for content and updates related to Hybrid Work and Cisco's focus on Re-Imagining Workspaces.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Ransomware on the rise

We’d all like ransomware to be defeated so we can go about our business. That day is not coming in the near future. Instead, and according to the 2023 Verizon DBIR report, r… Read more on Cisco Blogs

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Ransomware on the rise

We’d all like ransomware to be defeated so we can go about our business. That day is not coming in the near future. Instead, and according to the 2023 Verizon DBIR report, ransomware “…continues its reign as one of the top Action types present in breaches, and while it did not actually grow, it did hold statistically steady at 24%.”

And the fundamental reason for its longevity of course is financial. As the DBIR pointed out in nearly all breach types, “…the primary motivation for attacks continues to be overwhelmingly financially driven, at 95% of breaches.”

But that’s not the whole story

Ransomware is taking on new forms.  Up until the past year or so, bad actors would typically take steps to infiltrate businesses, then find a way to access as much critical data as they could and encrypt it, then essentially hold this data until the ransom is paid. Ransomware attacks are certainly a frustrating process for businesses, and a rather involved one for bad actors. For attackers, the basic ransom process involves a somewhat diminished payoff, as this multi-player scheme involves profit sharing from other bad actors in the attack chain structure.

Encryption to some bad actors is passe’

When it comes to digital crime these days, never underestimate the greed factor and the ongoing search for a path of least resistance. A trend that has been building recently centers on the thought – “Why bother with encryption at all, why not just analyze the data, find what is valuable, and threaten to expose the most crucial and reputation-damaging information?”

For bad actors, this eliminates one of the steps in the attack-chain, but also reduces the need to share the profits with the encryption players (e.g., commoditized source code libraries).  This type of attack is often referred to as “extortionware” or “cyber extortion,” among other terms.

And what about that Data?

For bad actors who take the time and effort to analyze the data, there can be additional financial rewards. This new focus is centered on identifying partners and clients of the targeted business and utilizing this group as leverage to convince the targeted business to pay the extortion money – to avoid the inevitable exposure and consequences of the breach.

How far has this extortionware gone?

We’ve seen in the past that if there are enough repeat types of tactics and techniques frequently occurring, some in the security industry will categorize them, the same situation here. You will likely find variations of methods used in ransomware extortion – but the following is a very quick summary of at least four known techniques that bad actors have been using, not necessarily in this order:

Single extortion attack – typical encryption techniques
Double extortion attack – exfiltrate data first, then encrypt, threaten to expose data
Triple extortion attack – as in the above but leveraging the victim’s customers and partners
Quadruple extortion attack – adding insult to injury above, threatening to attack the victim’s web servers with a DDoS attack.

What is a business to do?

The good news is that most businesses are doing most of what’s required to successfully defend themselves against these types of attacks. But as everyone is aware, these attacks keep occurring, and will continue as long as a financial profit is realizable.

Fundamentally the most successful businesses employ, but are not limited to, three key areas of defense:

SOC Expertise – human expertise, either in-house or managed, has the final say.
Advanced Security Tools – utilizing XDR, AI, Automation, and other key capabilities to reduce detection and remediation times and to minimize human error, as well as triage, investigations, and incident response.
Best Practices – to answer simple questions such as (1) does your security staff have specific roles when a breach occurs, (2) besides having a plan, has it been tested? and (3) is IT, SecOps, and other stakeholders bought into the plan?

Example of an Advanced Security Tools

Recently Cisco announced Cisco XDR, a product that helps to simplify your security operations and to remediate the highest priority incidents with greater speed, efficiency, and confidence.

The name of the game is to be security resilient and to minimize the possibility of attacks such as extortionware. Please check out the Cisco XDR info and demos here.

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