In today’s hyperconnected world where seamless customer experience is the key to success, your network can often become the differentiator that helps you succeed. This is true not just for large e… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

In today’s hyperconnected world where seamless customer experience is the key to success, your network can often become the differentiator that helps you succeed. This is true not just for large enterprises, but also for small and medium businesses.

Through Cisco’s small and medium business portfolio, we have been bringing the latest technology to our SMB customers and helping them create secure, reliable networks that can be effortlessly setup, monitored and managed; all at prices that fit small business budgets.

The new Cisco Catalyst 1200 and 1300 series switches are the latest additions to our small and medium business portfolio of access switches with Linux-based OS that combine powerful network performance, simplified management, and reliability with a comprehensive suite of network features that enable the digital transformation of growing businesses and branch offices.

These switches have been designed to help customers focus on growing their business rather than spending their time managing IT, by offering the following benefits:

Simplicity – Simple management with web-based configuration, Cisco Business Mobile App and Cisco Business Dashboard. Auto discovery for easy integration with Collab and Wi-Fi products.

Flexibility – Ultimate business flexibility with Gigabit, Multigigabit and 10G connectivity, Gigabit or 10G uplinks, and PoE+ support up to 740W.

Security – Advanced security protocols providing a solid security foundation, ensuring privacy and business continuity.

Cisco Catalyst® 1200 Series Switches

The Cisco Catalyst 1200 Series Switches are purpose-built for growing businesses, combining robust performance & reliability with ease of setup, monitoring & management. These switches provide comprehensive security capabilities, Layer 3 static routing features, & multiple PoE+ options to choose from.

Cisco Catalyst® 1300 Series Switches

The Cisco Catalyst 1300 Series Switches are fixed, managed, enterprise-class Layer 3 switches designed for small and medium-sized business and branch offices. They offer advanced security features, front-panel stacking capabilities, gigabit, multi-gigabit and 10 gig-ethernet options, and Layer 3 RIP routing, with a POE+ budget up to 740W.

Which one do you need?

The following table compares the prominent features of Catalyst 1200 and 1300 series switches:

With the Cisco Catalyst 1200 and 1300 Series switches, there are no licenses to purchase, and software updates are available at no additional cost. The switches offer a limited lifetime warranty with one-year free phone support.

Customers who wish to deploy themselves can purchase the new Cisco Catalyst 1200 and 1300 series switches through eComm partners such as Amazon.com or other e-tailers. Cisco partners can contact their distributor of choice.

Read more about the benefits of each of these switches:

Cisco Catalyst 1200 Series  |  Cisco Catalyst 1300 Series

"}]]  Introducing the latest Cisco Catalyst 1200 and 1300 series switches, enhancing our SMB portfolio with advanced network performance, management simplicity, and robust security features for seamless business growth and transformation.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Navigating Zero Trust with Advanced Visibility and AI-Powered Cyber Defense

Visibility is essential and foundational to effectively addressing governmental zero trust mandates and guidance.… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

Navigating Zero Trust with Advanced Visibility and AI-Powered Cyber Defense

Visibility is essential and foundational to effectively addressing governmental zero trust mandates and guidance. Observability must extend to users, devices, identity, infrastructure, workflows, applications, workloads, and data. Although vital, visibility alone is insufficient to realize effective cybersecurity.

Government organizations must also be able to apply analytics to understand anomalous activity and then drive automation and orchestration to dynamically respond to and reconfigure infrastructure to prevent or at least mitigate potentially malicious activity. Since anomalous activity can also result from poorly performing networks and infrastructure, this integrated approach also enhances user experiences in addition to improving cybersecurity. Empowered by our recent acquisition of Splunk, Cisco can further enrich observability, insights, and actions to better connect and protect government agencies, thereby delivering integrated enterprise cybersecurity resiliency and achieving desired agency mission and business outcomes.

In addition, by augmenting these actions with proven predictive AI and soon generative AI capabilities, AI can become a force multiplier for both further accelerating agency cybersecurity efforts and delivering superior user experiences. Potentially most importantly, AI can help address workforce skill gaps as well as augment and assist our often-overworked cybersecurity and IT workforces. The result: enhanced efficiency and proficiency of enterprise actions to deliver both optimized cybersecurity and user experiences for their agencies.

Insights on Achieving Network Visibility and AI-Driven Security

I recently had a chance to sit down with CyberScoop following their Zero Trust Summit in DC. In this short video (3:11), I discuss the criticality of real-time visibility across government agencies’ networks and share AI’s transformative role in accelerating the adoption of zero trust practices, offering predictive insights and bolstering the capacity of the cybersecurity workforce to proactively counter threats. Watch and see if you share my cybersecurity perspectives:

To learn more about the use cases and architectures that are making a difference for Government,

explore the Portfolio Explorer for Government

–> Did you know you can have our government blogs delivered directly to your inbox? Subscribe to our Cisco Government blogs. <–

"}]]  Discover the future of zero trust in government cybersecurity, where enhanced visibility meets AI-driven analytics for a powerhouse of protection and performance. Hear expert insights in our CyberScoop interview.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

It is no secret that we are living in an unprecedented fast-paced, innovative society. Everywhere you look someone is promoting a new application, a phone that is more innovative than the one… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

It is no secret that we are living in an unprecedented fast-paced, innovative society. Everywhere you look someone is promoting a new application, a phone that is more innovative than the one released the year before, or a tool that will solve your technology challenges. With a society of people that are so bio-diverse with ideas, thoughts, and needs that are equally various, it could seem impossible to make a choice or feel confident that you’re making the right choice for yourself, your team, your company, or even the world.

That’s where Cisco and our valued distributors step in as your true, trusted advisor. Advisors to help you make the best choices for your needs that will have the best results for the years to come.

Quarterly Partner Insights

Based on the advancing technology, the Americas Distribution Team identified a few areas where our partners can drive greater success within their business. Our distributors have done a phenomenal job of sharing these priorities with their partners, but we want to do more to directly enable our partners and fuel success through distribution. That is where the Quarterly Partner Insights events come into play.

These quarterly 1-hour partner events enable Cisco experts to talk directly with a select group of Value-Added Reseller (VAR) partners. We use this hour to give a hypersonic, high-level, view of our priorities to the partners and then enable them to have additional strategic discussions with their distributors. To ensure success, we are building up our distributors, your trusted advisors, with the tools and resources they need to help partners elevate their business strategies.

In Q3 FY24, we shared a few key priorities:

Cisco Sales Growth Sprints: Re-imagine workspace and Full stack observability
Cisco Black Belt Academy updates and a NEW specialization: Core Security, which I’ll talk more about!
Cisco Security Competitive Insights

These areas are important to our overarching strategy, and from our insights, we know there is significant opportunity for our distributors and partners to be successful. If you missed these great events, for sales or general, you can watch the recordings and review the presentations through these links.

Sales Recording

Sales Presentation

General Session Recording

General Session Presentation

Core Security Specialization

As I mentioned above, we have a brand-new specialization called Core Security. This specialization launched at the end of calendar 2023, and we recognize it as an opportunity for partners to demonstrate their capabilities in today’s competitive cybersecurity landscape. This specialization sets partners apart and gives them the recognition to deliver scalable security solutions to defend against threats while maintaining integrity and continuity for customers.

Cisco specializations enable partners to significantly increase their profitability while also showing their customers that they are a true, trusted advisor. Within the Core Security Specialization, partners will demonstrate their sales and technical knowledge to achieve Select status, unlock unique revenue potential, and increase opportunities to land new customers.

“83% of SMBs say cybersecurity is their #1 IT challenge, and almost 70% of all B2B IT
spending in 2023 is for cloud-based infrastructure, software, and services.”
— TechValidate

Cybersecurity needs are only going to increase as our world continues to move at hypersonic speeds in technology innovation. Take advantage of the security market opportunities today by obtaining your Core Security Specialization.

Learn more about the Core Security Specialization

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

Cisco Partners Facebook  |  @CiscoPartners X/Twitter  |  Cisco Partners LinkedIn

"}]]  Cisco and our valued distributors step in as your true, trusted advisor. Advisors to help you make the best choices for your needs that will have the best results for the years to come.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Electric utilities are undergoing a monumental shift towards grid modernization. With growing energy demands and the need to integrate sustainable energy sources, the industry is seeking enhanced… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

Electric utilities are undergoing a monumental shift towards grid modernization. With growing energy demands and the need to integrate sustainable energy sources, the industry is seeking enhanced reliability and efficiency. Key to this transformation is the modernization of the grid’s communication network to facilitate the flow of valuable data.

A strategic and comprehensive approach is essential for effective grid modernization.

At DISTRIBUTECH 2024 in Orlando, Florida, utilities voiced their concerns, highlighting the urgency to:

Accelerate cybersecurity measures to safeguard operational technologies and critical infrastructures.
Develop solutions fostering collaboration between IT and operational teams for grid modernization projects.
Utilize a variety of access technologies, including the potential of 5G and eSIMs.
Address resource and skills shortages with scalable network management and automation to enhance grid efficiencies and minimize downtime.

Cisco’s Industrial IoT team has been collaborating with utilities for over two decades, recognizing that a modern grid necessitates a modern network. Our focus is to provide industrial networking products and solutions built for utility needs, ensuring security, simplicity, and scalability for the modern grid.

Figure 1. Cisco in the Utilities sector

Let’s discuss some of our recent key innovations in these areas.

Streamlined scale and enhanced simplicity

The utility grid’s distributed architecture calls for a network infrastructure that covers multiple locations. This infrastructure faces numerous challenges, including latency, bandwidth, redundancy, scalability, and cybersecurity. Updating and managing such a widespread network is resource intensive.

Cisco’s Catalyst SD-WAN solution with Cisco Catalyst Industrial Routers, meets these stringent grid requirements. It brings together enterprise-level security, scalability, simplicity, with industrial-strength reliability to maintain grid communication uptime for increased grid resilience.

Key enhancements

We’re making it easier to avoid truck rolls and simpler to accurately scale network deployments and reduce configuration errors with enhanced security and management automation capabilities.
For heightened cybersecurity in Substation Automation, Catalyst SD-WAN Security on the Cisco Catalyst IR8340 Rugged Router unlocks a suite of advanced protections, from next-generation firewall and intrusion prevention to malware defense that’s backed by Talos threat intelligence.

All of these capabilities come together in the latest version of our Cisco Validated Design for the substation, which provides a complete blueprint for successful Digital Substation deployments with Cisco Catalyst SD-WAN.

Additionally, for Distribution Automation in the Field Area Network, Cisco IoT Field Network Director now offers a new, secure, and simplified router management system capable of handling up to 25,000 routers, enhancing operational efficiency.

Scale with new purpose-built hardware for utilities

New Cisco Catalyst IE9300 Rugged Series Switches SKUs for Substations: Delivers greater substation scalability with all-fiber or all-copper ports and support hybrid stacks, featuring timing inputs and embedded Cyber Vision sensors for comprehensive visibility into grid assets and cyber threats. These industrial switches are also IEEE 1613 and IEC 61850 certified for substation use.
New Cisco Catalyst IE3100 Rugged Series Switches: Building on a decade of success, the IE3100 series is the next-generation Layer 2 switch that is IEEE 1613 and IEC-61850 certified, and perfect for the substation, renewables and more. It offers a compact design with Gigabit Ethernet speeds suitable for a variety of industrial applications in harsh environments.

Scale with easily deployable reliable wireless backhaul

New Cisco Catalyst IW9165D Heavy Duty Access Point: Ensures reliable wireless backhaul in a rugged design, ideal for connecting devices like high-resolution thermal security cameras at remote substation locations.

Upcoming certifications and connectivity enhancements

Wi-SUN 1.1 Certification for the Catalyst IR8140 Heavy Duty Series Router: Improves Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) with low power consumption and higher throughput.
New 5G Connectivity PIM: Meets the latest 3GPP release 16 specifications, including eSIM support, and simplifies upgrades to 5G/LTE in public or private networks as a universal PIM offering global 5G connectivity.

Utility cybersecurity

As utilities digitize the grid, visibility and threat protection become crucial to ensure cybersecurity and compliance with upcoming NERC-CIP standards for Internal Network Security Monitoring (INSM). Cisco Cyber Vision provides OT network visibility, acting as a security sensor and delivering actionable insights to secure utility networks. With Cyber Vision’s latest advancements, substations can achieve improved visibility for NERC-CIP compliance.

Read more about boosting your NERC-CIP Compliance with Cisco.

As the utility industry moves forward with grid modernization, Cisco Industrial IoT remains committed to supplying the specialized hardware, software, and solutions necessary to ensure the safe, efficient, and reliable delivery of electricity. Learn more here.

"}]]  Learn how we’re making the grid communications network more secure, simple, and scalable with new purpose-built solutions for grid modernization.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Co-authored by Allison Norfleet

The results from the Best in KLAS Awards 2024: Software & Services awards are out, and KLAS has awarded Duo winner of Best in KLAS in the Access Management category… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

Co-authored by Allison Norfleet

The results from the Best in KLAS Awards 2024: Software & Services awards are out, and KLAS has awarded Duo winner of Best in KLAS in the Access Management category for 2024, for the second year in a row. Based on extensive feedback and evaluations from healthcare professionals across the nation, Duo’s Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) product was measured against the competition in key criteria including culture, loyalty, product, relationships, operations, and value. By providing secure access for every user, every device, and every application, Duo was declared the clear choice.

Duo for healthcare: Your healthcare industry data needs preventative care too

So, how does Duo help protect healthcare organizations? Duo’s comprehensive access security solution is both easy to use and highly effective for healthcare. Additionally, and as we all know, healthcare organizations absolutely need a strong zero trust strategy. With tools that align with industry compliance initiatives and a platform that integrates with any application and server, Duo can help make sure you not only have a zero trust strategy, but that you can execute against it.

Duo can help healthcare organizations:

Adopt MFA technology to protect patient information and personal data
Embrace password less technology via tokens, biometrics and more
Manage and track e-prescriptions for controlled substances via EPCS integration
Use single sign-on (SSO) for a consistent, powerful, hassle-free login experience
Create security resilience to bounce back faster and plan based on risk
Ensure that only trusted devices access sensitive resources

Thank you KLAS and thank you to our amazing healthcare customers

KLAS has been center point in the healthcare IT industry since 1996 with their mission to improve the world’s healthcare through insights, collaboration, and transparency. Awards like this help do just that providing insights and transparency so that healthcare organizations can make informed decisions and help create and drive better outcomes through the help of technology. We are extremely humbled and honoured to be recognized.

We also thank our amazing healthcare customers as your feedback and insights are invaluable to us. We focus on you, and what you need to do, and we leverage technology and solutions, like Duo, to help you along the way. Between good health and great care, there’s a bridge.

To learn more about security challenges and trends facing healthcare and how Duo can help you, read our eBook, and to learn more about all of our healthcare solutions, visit our Cisco Healthcare Portfolio Explorer.

"}]]  By providing secure access for every user, every device, and every application, Duo was declared the clear choice.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Record-Breaking Security Vulnerabilities in 2023

According to data from Statista, the amount of vulnerabilities recorded in 2023 hit a record number with 29,000 new vulnerabilities reported. This is… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

Record-Breaking Security Vulnerabilities in 2023

According to data from Statista, the amount of vulnerabilities recorded in 2023 hit a record number with 29,000 new vulnerabilities reported. This is a 16% increase since 2022 and a doubling since 2017. In the first week of 2024 there were 612 vulnerabilities reported.

This sheer volume of vulnerabilities being released, coupled with the growing costs of cybercrime, is stressing existing operations teams in keeping up with the volume. Doing everything was never possible, and now it’s not even aspirational. Prioritizing time to make the greatest impact is critical in maintaining a strong security posture.

The Challenge of Vulnerability Remediation

Telling teams to remediate vulnerabilities is like telling firefighters to put out forest fires in the southwest during summer. There are always fires; you will never get them all put out. Given budgetary and real-world resource constraints, what is the stack ranked importance of different priorities in which to invest resources for the maximum impact? This is critical as keeping up with this has become a full-time job as financial services seek to remain compliant and secure. It is not practical or possible to immediately address all vulnerabilities in a financial services company’s large heterogeneous IT environments. Prioritization of risk-based vulnerabilities is critical to ensure organizations can manage security risk while managing operational availability.

Cisco’s Impact on Vulnerability Management

Specifically, Fortune 500 financial services companies who use Cisco Vulnerability Management report an 82% reduction in high-risk vulnerabilities after Cisco Vulnerability Management provided a comprehensive view into the context of the vulnerabilities. This is done by tracking Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE) across the lifecycle, from initial creation to real-world exploitation. This analysis includes the following data sources:

Open-source databases such as MITRE and the NVD (National Vulnerability Database)
Other vulnerability scoring sources like IBM X-Force, Silobreaker, and unique research from renowned research teams
Early warning indicators derived from dark web sources, blogs, social media, and more
Exploit databases like Exploit DB, Metasploit, GitHub, and others
Malware analysis, utilizing data from ReversingLabs to determine if a particular CVE is frequently used by malware
Information on malware families and threat actors
Data on the volume and velocity of successful exploits observed in the wild

Significant Reductions in Remediation Efforts

Through using the Cisco Vulnerability Management approach, Mattel reported a 50% reduction in time spent on remediation. A global 500 hospitality company reported a 75% reduction in time spent on vulnerability investigation. And Charter reported a 75% reduction in time spent on reporting. Scaling the security teams to prioritized response maximizes the focus on the highest threats, and is the purpose of Cisco Vulnerability management.

Prioritizing with Volume and Velocity Data

The collection of volume and velocity data is particularly crucial for security teams seeking to prioritize vulnerabilities. While most vulnerability management vendors track binary yes/no indicators of exploitation, Cisco goes beyond that. Our data provides insights into the number of machines exploited by a specific CVE within the past 24 hours, allowing us to assess if a vulnerability is currently more risky compared to previous days.
All of this data is fed into Cisco Vulnerability Management’s machine learning model-based risk scoring, which incorporates our patented exploit prediction capabilities. The result is the Cisco Security Risk Score (formerly the Kenna Risk Score), which informs our customers about the level of risk associated with a vulnerability based on real-world attacker activity.

Integration with Existing Financial Services Tools

Another key value of Cisco’s Vulnerability management approach is the integration with existing tool sets that Financial Services use. Through expanding the capabilities of existing assets already in use, we create additive value to security teams in creating a complimentary solution that provides enumeration of risks from these other tools.

Key Features of Cisco VM specific to regulated financials

Cisco Vulnerability management helps financials focus their risk priorities to make the largest impact. It also helps financials in meeting regulatory requirements, such as those present in the PCI guidance and FFIEC regulatory requirements. Some of the areas Cisco VM can help financials meet regulatory requirements include:

Risk-based Vulnerability Management: Financial institutions are required to manage and mitigate cybersecurity risks. Cisco’s platform uses advanced algorithms to analyze vulnerabilities based on the risk they pose, enabling financial institutions to prioritize and address the most critical threats first, which is often a requirement in financial regulations.
Compliance Reporting: Regulatory bodies often require detailed reports on the security posture of financial institutions. Cisco’s platform can generate reports that demonstrate compliance with various regulatory standards, such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and others.
Threat Intelligence: Cisco’s platform provides threat intelligence that can help financial institutions stay aware of the latest cybersecurity threats. This intelligence can be used to proactively prepare against against potential attacks, which is in line with the proactive stance expected by many financial regulators.
Automated Asset Discovery: Tracking all assets within a financial institution is critical for compliance. Cisco’s solutions can automatically discover and inventory digital assets, ensuring nothing is overlooked in the vulnerability management process.
Patch Effectiveness: Cisco’s platform not only helps prioritize which vulnerabilities to patch but also provides insights into the effectiveness of patches that have been applied. This helps ensure that remediation efforts are successful, essential for maintaining a strong security posture and compliance.
Integrations with Other Security Tools: The integrations listed above are not only important to addressing security but critical for meeting reporting on, tracking, and meeting regulatory requirements. There isn’t one tool that by itself can solve for this, and the integration helps tools focused on audit understand the state of the vulnerability landscape.
Continuous Monitoring: Regulatory requirements often mandate continuous monitoring for vulnerabilities and incidents. Cisco’s platform can continuously scan and monitor the environment, providing up-to-date information about the institution’s security state. Through partnerships, the continuous monitoring component can be even stronger and fit into a financial methodology.

Cisco Vulnerability Management is key to helping financials ensure they are getting the greatest impact out of their security activities through addressing prioritized threats, and ensuring compliance to regulatory requirements.

For more information on how Cisco can support your financial services needs,

explore all of our solutions at Cisco for Financial Services

"}]]  Discover how Cisco Vulnerability Management is transforming cybersecurity for financial firms, significantly cutting down high-risk vulnerabilities.  Read More Cisco Blogs