In the ever-evolving tapestry of technology, three potent forces are coming together: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Confidential Computing, and Blockchain. Each, on its own, has the power to redefine… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

In the ever-evolving tapestry of technology, three potent forces are coming together: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Confidential Computing, and Blockchain. Each, on its own, has the power to redefine facets of our digital existence. But when combined, they herald a transformative era. Let’s embark on a journey to demystify this convergence and unlock its groundbreaking potential.

Setting the Stage

Imagine a world where machines possess the ability to think, learn, and decide, mirroring human intelligence. This is the realm of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Systems like ChatGPT can converse, analyze vast data, and identify patterns. However, they thirst for ever-growing datasets, and this hunger presents challenges. Centralized AI models resemble expansive libraries that are constantly growing, but space and privacy constraints hinder this growth.

Enter the guardian of this digital realm: Confidential Computing. It’s not just about locking data away securely; it’s about ensuring that data, while being actively used, remains unseen by prying eyes. Picture reading a confidential document in a bustling library, but under an invisibility cloak that renders both you and the document unseen. This is achieved by isolating sensitive data in a protected CPU enclave during processing, ensuring that only authorized code can access it. Confidential Computing addresses the longstanding security dilemma in cloud computing: encryption at rest, in transit, and, most challengingly, in use.

We also have Blockchain, the unalterable ledger of truth. Visualize a massive book where every transaction, every event, is etched with indelible ink, ensuring trust and transparency. Lastly, merging Confidential Computing and Blockchain creates a secure and trusted environment for data sharing called the Confidence Fabric.

A Harmonious Confluence

Now, envision a world where these three titans collaborate. AI, with its insatiable curiosity, seeks knowledge from data. Confidential Computing pledges to keep this quest secure and Blockchain stands as the unwavering witness, ensuring every step is transparent and trustworthy.

In AI’s world, there is a decentralized approach called Federated Learning. Instead of hoarding data in one place, the learning is dispatched to where the data resides, ensuring its sanctity. But how can we trust this myriad of learning points? How do we guarantee that during AI’s learning journey, the data remains shielded? This is where Confidential Computing steps in, offering AI a secure enclave, a sanctuary, in every location it visits.

And the role of Blockchain? It’s the chronicler of AI’s odyssey. Every learning step, and every insight gained, is recorded, ensuring the journey’s transparency and authenticity.

A Dance in Reality

Let’s anchor this in a tangible scenario.  A commercial EV (electric vehicle) manufacturer wants to use AI to develop new and innovative EV batteries. The battery data is highly confidential and needs to be protected from unauthorized access. The manufacturer also needs to be able to share the data with select partners, such as battery suppliers and research institutions, for collaborative development.

Solution

The manufacturer uses a Confidential Computing platform to train an AI model on the battery data. This ensures that the data is never exposed to the people who are developing or training the model. Once the model is trained, it is deployed to a Confidence Fabric environment. This allows the manufacturer to share the model with select partners without revealing the underlying data.

The manufacturer uses Blockchain to create a tamper-proof record of all interactions with the AI model. This ensures that the model is being used in a fair and ethical manner.

The manufacturer also uses Blockchain to settle micropayments between itself and its partners for the use of the AI model. This eliminates the need for third-party payment processors and reduces transaction costs.

Benefits

Security: Confidential Computing and Confidence Fabric protect the battery data from unauthorized access, even by the people who are developing or training the AI model or using the model to develop new batteries.
Privacy: The manufacturer can control who has access to the battery data and how it is used. This is important for protecting the manufacturer’s intellectual property and trade secrets.
Collaboration: Confidence Fabric enables the manufacturer to share the AI model with select partners for collaborative development. This can help the manufacturer to develop new batteries more quickly and efficiently.
Innovation: The AI model can be used to develop new and innovative battery chemistries, cell designs, and manufacturing processes. This can help the manufacturer to produce better and more affordable EVs.
Sustainability: a sustainable Blockchain that uses a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) architecture (like IOTA) achieves consensus without the need for mining. This makes this Blockchain energy-efficient and low-carbon emitting.
Efficiency: the IOTA Blockchain transactions are settled in seconds and have zero cost transaction fees. This eliminates the need for third-party payment processors and reduces transaction costs for the manufacturer and its partners.

Challenges

Scalability: The Confidential Computing platform, Confidence Fabric environment, and Blockchain network need to be scalable to support the needs of the manufacturer and its partners.
Regulation: The manufacturer needs to ensure that it is complying with all applicable regulations, such as data privacy laws, export control regulations, and environmental regulations.
Adoption: The manufacturer and its partners need to be educated about the benefits of Confidential Computing, Confidence Fabric, AI, and Blockchain.

In this scenario, this solution has the potential to revolutionize the commercial EV industry and help to accelerate the transition to a more sustainable future.

Towards a Converged Horizon

This union of AI, Confidential Computing, and Blockchain is akin to a symphony. Each element has its distinct note, but together, they craft a harmonious melody. This alliance promises a future where AI’s quest for knowledge respects privacy, where data remains shielded even during active exploration, and where every action is transparent and verifiable.

In conclusion, as we navigate the currents of technological evolution, the confluence of AI, Confidential Computing, and Blockchain lights the way, promising a future that’s not just advanced, but also secure and transparent.

"}]]  Imagine a world where AI develops revolutionary EV batteries, securely analyzing confidential data while collaborating with partners. This powerful combo of AI, Confidential Computing, and Blockchain unlocks a future of secure innovation in electric vehicles and beyond.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Cisco’s advocacy community, Cisco Insider, brings our customers together and provides a way for them to make powerful connections, expand their professional and personal networks, and learn from top e… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

Cisco’s advocacy community, Cisco Insider, brings our customers together and provides a way for them to make powerful connections, expand their professional and personal networks, and learn from top experts in their field. One of our goals is to deepen our relationships with our customers. Our Q&A series allows us to shine a spotlight on some of our most passionate advocates as we learn about their backgrounds.

Today, we have one of the friendliest faces in the community joining us for a chat. I’m excited to welcome Tim Harmon from Journey Community Church.

Tim is a member of Cisco Insider Advocates, Cisco Insider Champions, and the Cisco Networking Academy Student Advisory Board.

Welcome, Tim! Let’s kick things off by talking about what you wanted to be when you were 16 years old?

I always wanted to be a meteorologist. In Colorado, I grew up watching Mike Nelson forecast the weather on the news. In high school, I got the chance to visit KUSA 9NEWS. I spent the day in the studio reading weather reports and watching behind-the-scenes action. I loved every minute of it.

What an amazing experience! How did you pivot to start your career in IT? What professional decision or opportunity helped lead you to your current role?

Unfortunately, when I moved from Colorado to San Diego, Calif., there were no meteorology programs at any of the schools I considered. One day at the trolley stop, I heard someone talking about telecommunications, which sounded interesting. I did a little research and decided to get my diploma at Associated Technical College and then my bachelor’s degree in computer science with a networking emphasis at California College San Diego (CCSD). Next, I continued my education with a master’s degree in computer science and a master’s degree in cybersecurity. It’s fascinating to understand the different technologies and how they work together.

In between my graduate programs, I worked at a managed security service provider (MSSP) as a security analyst and fell in love with security. Nowadays, you hear so many stories about new cyber threats and companies getting attacked. I want to be the one to help them position to defend themselves.

COVID played a role in the way I obtained my current position. I was volunteering on the production team at Journey Community Church. In March 2021, the weekend production director asked if I’d be interested in joining the staff. I’m now the person charged with getting the computer graphics (CG) ready each weekend and making sure all production team roles are filled.

That’s awesome. I wonder how long your journey would have taken without that day at the trolley stop. The Cisco Networking Academy is a great place to develop cybersecurity skills. How did your experience with the Academy begin?

Many years ago, I was the assistant director for vendors and entertainment at the San Diego Gay Rodeo. In 2010, the director, who was also a teacher at DeVry University, told me about Cisco Networking Academy. I applied immediately. It turned out that Cisco Networking Academy was offered through San Diego Continuing Education. It was such a great experience! All classes were in person and the program was truly hands-on with a live lab that used routers, switches, computers, and cables. A special moment was when I got the opportunity to go to Cisco Live 2015 as part of the Dream Team. We helped build the entire wireless network for the event and it was one of the best opportunities I’ve ever had.

We may need to write another blog post on just your rodeo experience! What an incredible opportunity to be a part of the Dream Team! How did you become a member of the Cisco Networking Academy Student Advisory Board?

Well, I was named Mr. San Diego Rodeo 2007, so plenty to talk about! After Cisco announced the new Cisco Certified Cyber Ops Associate certification and the scholarship program in 2016, I applied, was accepted, and earned my certification. Given my familiarity with the team and my long-time engagement with Cisco Networking Academy, I was invited to become a part of the Student Advisory Board. Our role is to ensure that the program is continually improving and up to date with current information technology and information security trends. And my learning hasn’t stopped there. I’ve begun a two-year program to obtain a master’s degree in advanced studies in data and engineering at the University of California, San Diego and will graduate in June 2025.

I love that you’re still on the board today and we’re rooting for you in your studies! Pivoting slightly, what do you love about the Cisco Insider Champions community?

The Cisco Insider Champions program engages with more than 300 people from all over the world who come together to share their expertise. We get sneak peeks at evolving Cisco technologies and have the chance to give feedback. They teach us how to elevate our personal brand, so we learn blogging skills and how to share content on social media. Cisco Champions get exclusive access at Cisco Live, including behind-the-scenes opportunities, fun parties, and the chance to do a podcast at the Podcast Domain in the World of Solutions.

I hear you’re also a part of another program under the Cisco Insider umbrella! Tell me about your experience with Cisco Insider Advocates?

Cisco Insider Advocates is a community any Cisco customer can join with different channels to explore. I’ve learned so much about not just security but Catalyst Center, Thousand Eyes, Intersight, Duo, and more. Every day I learn something new. The rewards I get for completing challenges are a great bonus. And I love the CIA booth at Cisco Live as a great place to hang out and meet fellow advocates and community managers.

How have being a part of these communities impacted you both professionally and personally?

Being a part of Cisco Insider has helped me find and connect with people that I consider my close friends. Cisco Insider has really helped me branch out. I’d never blogged or done social media before. Now, I’ve started own blog site and launched my own YouTube channel to share cybersecurity tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way. It’s designed for people from beginner to intermediate so that they can enjoy and learn with me.

You’re involved with so much within Cisco and we appreciate you greatly. Last question, is there anything else in your life you’re super passionate about and want to highlight?

I’m a part of a nonprofit here in San Diego called BSidesSD. BSides is an annual information cybersecurity conference where speakers do a practice run before they present at Black Hat and DEF CON in Vegas over the summer. I’ve created a promo and teaser video for it on my new YouTube channel (SecurityCyberGeek). The conference will take place March 30, 2024 at San Diego State University. I’m super excited to be leading as the volunteer coordinator this year! Check out their website for more information and to learn about future events!

Read more advocate interviews

You might enjoy this interview with Cisco Insider Damian Erni.

Join us!

For our customers who have already joined our Cisco Insider Advocates community, say hello to Tim if you haven’t met yet. And if you’re a Cisco customer but aren’t a community member, consider joining. You’ll be able to:

Connect with peers in a gamified, online community
Have an opportunity to meet with Cisco’s executives
Share your feedback, questions, and best practices
Get access to ‘insider’ content and resources
Grow your professional and personal brand
Amplify your company’s success story with Cisco technology

Ready to get started?

Head over to the Cisco Insider Advocates Community and say hello!

(Requires registration / login)

"}]]  Tim Harmon traveled a unique journey on his way to building a career in IT and cybersecurity, which included a strong commitment to Cisco Insider and Cisco Networking Academy.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

International Women’s Day (IWD) gives us time to reflect on the achievements women have made before us, the unique challenges women may face today as they continue to break barriers, and what the f… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

International Women’s Day (IWD) gives us time to reflect on the achievements women have made before us, the unique challenges women may face today as they continue to break barriers, and what the future may look like for women as we move into a digital and low-carbon economy.

The theme for IWD this year is “inspire inclusion.” Thriving economies depend on stable environments and inclusive societies, and that’s why Cisco’s environmental sustainability strategy, The Plan for Possible, includes investing in resilient ecosystems as one of its three priorities. It is in our shared interest to help humans and nature navigate a changing climate by investing in regenerative technologies, workforces, and nature itself. The Cisco Foundation’s Climate Grants and Investments team is working toward that vision by providing nonprofit grants and impact investing to support innovative climate solutions.

As I reflected in a piece last year about women making strides in sustainability, I couldn’t be prouder to see so many women represented in the environmental sustainability space. Women couldn’t be better positioned to help connect us to a more regenerative future. According to United Nations (UN) Women, “In general, women are more likely to consider their families and communities in decision-making processes—which is crucial to producing the kind of holistic solutions that make for effective climate action.”

To gain some different perspectives, we asked six women entrepreneurs, whose climate technologies the Cisco Foundation has invested in, how women’s leadership and creativity in the climate innovation space helps us build resilient ecosystems. This is what they had to say:

Allison Wolff, CEO, Vibrant Planet — United States

“Jane Goodall, one of the women I most admire, said: ‘The environment, after all, is where we all meet, where we all have a mutual interest.  It is one thing that all of us share.  It is not only a mirror of ourselves, but a focusing lens on what we can become.’

I am inspired by many women in the nature solutions space. Margo Robbins is a Karuk Tribal member teaching hundreds of people the art of beneficial fire; Katharine Hayhoe leads science at The Nature Conservancy; Sandra Steingraber who picked up Rachel Carson’s lifesaving work; dozens of women cofounders and CEOs who, like me, are pioneering the nature tech space.

Perhaps women are leading this space because we naturally have a nurturing, reciprocal relationship with nature rather than a destructive one. Women are known for creating community and we know that the answer to the nature and climate crisis resides in community, collaboration, and cooperation. Women know that nature is community and community is nature.”

Ugwem I. Eneyo, CEO and Co-Founder, SHYFT Power Solutions — Nigeria

“As the founder and CEO of SHYFT Power Solutions, I’ve had the opportunity to work with families, businesses, regulatory bodies, and a wide range of stakeholders, delivering technology and solutions to solve some of Africa’s toughest energy challenges.

I see how economies can be impacted and ultimately thrive when we take creative approaches to supporting clean, reliable, and affordable energy solutions.

I believe people closest to challenges are often in a unique and promising position to solve those challenges, and solving climate and environmental challenges can be best achieved when women are involved and leading those efforts.

One of SHYFT’s core values is solving unique challenges with diverse perspectives, and the creativity, ingenuity, and insight of women are a key part of that.”

Emily Jacobi, Founder and Co-Director, Digital Democracy — United States

“I believe that women’s full participation and leadership in general is critical to a thriving human ecosystem. This is particularly true in the climate innovation space.

Through my work with Digital Democracy, I have been privileged to work with Indigenous women on four different continents and I have seen firsthand how much more effective and resilient climate work is when women’s contributions are fully valued and recognized in their communities.

Everywhere we’ve worked, I’ve seen how Indigenous women bring essential skills, knowledge, and energy to the collective work of building resilience. For example, in so many Indigenous communities in the Americas, it is women who are the knowledge keepers of where sacred medicinal plants are grown, and how to best tend to traditional foods – essential knowledge for climate resilience. Or with our close partners the Cheptikale Ogiek of Mt Elgon, Kenya, women have played a leading role in a mapping initiative to restore ancestral lands to their communities, helping to protect and steward their local ecosystem.

The future of humanity depends on us doing everything we can to support resilient ecosystems in the world at large, and therefore depends on women’s inclusion in these efforts.”

Nancy Schellhorn, Co-Founder and CEO, RapidAIM — Australia 

“As women leaders, we bring visibility to the value of whole-of-community approaches to innovation.

Meeting the challenge of building resilient ecosystems takes all of us. It is our diversity of thinking and lived experience that helps us fully understand the problems that we need to solve, and that guides our creativity in developing solutions.

At the company I lead, RapidAIM, we’re on a mission to reduce the chemical intensity of agriculture. Pesticides are hydrocarbons that have been a mainstay of protecting food and fiber systems for decades. They have brought value by providing simple solutions to protecting crops, but also CO2e and harm to biodiversity.

At RapidAIM we believe in protecting crops while also protecting people and the planet. We achieve this with our cutting-edge hardware-enabled pest detection and defense system. Our novel internet of Things (IoT) insect sensors connects growers to the farm 24/7 to enable the most precise management of pests.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, let’s honour those women who have cleared the path of innovation by being bold, believing in our vision, and building for a better future.”

Kelly Erhart, President and Co-Founder, Vesta — United States

“Ideal leadership includes varying perspectives and reflects the population being led. So, naturally, including women’s perspectives at senior levels is essential to holistic leadership for any organization – and the climate innovation space is no different.

In my personal experience, the teams where I’ve seen the most success are those that include women at the helm. Most recently, at Vesta, I helped build an organization that includes women in leadership positions in both the business and science functions – and we’ve been able to develop one of the most cost-effective emerging climate technologies available today as a result.

When I work alongside the women at Vesta, I don’t just feel optimistic, I feel inspired. Every day they’re doing something that’s helping a cause bigger than themselves, bigger than all of us. And this goes beyond Vesta as well: we see female leadership helping activate climate progress globally. As the UN reported, ‘In the workplace, women’s leadership is associated with increased transparency around climate impact. Higher percentages of women on corporate boards positively correlates with the disclosure of carbon emissions information.’ For our planet to make progress towards the goals we’ve set out as a society, it’s clear that we need all voices and genders at the table doing their part.

I truthfully can’t think of a better group of people to conduct our work on ocean-based carbon removal than the incredible women we have at Vesta. I’m beyond thankful to be able to work alongside such passionate and capable women who strive to make the world a cooler place.”

Nicole Rycroft, Founder and Executive Director, Canopy — Canada

“International Women’s Day focuses our attention on the things we now take for granted that were once monumental struggles of courage. It’s also a time to take note of entrenched systems that continue to threaten women’s peace of mind and body. My NGO, Canopy, being woman-led and with a formidable team that is 85% women, stands on the shoulders of women who have taken on the seemingly impossible and won. We are keenly aware that women are disproportionately impacted by climate change – and historically under-represented in the decisions that have created the ecological mess we’re in.

The climate crisis requires all-hands on deck. But until significantly more women are in decision-making positions – we’ve tied one hand behind our back as Spaceship Earth falters.

Stabilizing our climate requires solutions to be scaled on accelerated timelines. It requires a comfort with ambiguity along with fierceness and determination (beware of mama bears). No single country, company or organization can solve the climate crisis by themselves. Leaders that value traits of collaboration as much or more than beating the competition will feel more comfortable in this existential endeavor. As U.S. President Harry Truman remarked, ‘It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.’

In my work alongside women in investment, business, civil society, and philanthropy, I see these traits deployed daily. Women lifting the work of others, creating pre-competitive solutions-spaces for the common goal. Through persistent and strategic efforts, we are shifting entrenched economic and political dynamics, transforming unsustainable supply chains, and securing ambitious, community-led conservation. Today, we honor these achievements and dare to dream bigger.”

See how Canopy is transforming supply chains:

Fostering resiliency, empowering people, protecting the planet. Learn more about

Cisco Foundation’s Climate Grants and Investments

"}]]  For International Women’s Day (IWD), we asked six women entrepreneurs to tell us how women’s leadership and creativity in the climate innovation space helps us build resilient ecosystems for a digital and low-carbon economy.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Security service edge (SSE) technology was created to protect remote and branch users with a unified, cloud-delivered security stack. To understand how SSE solutions protect organizations and their… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

Security service edge (SSE) technology was created to protect remote and branch users with a unified, cloud-delivered security stack. To understand how SSE solutions protect organizations and their users, it’s worthwhile to analyze attacker techniques, as well as the protections and controls SSE solutions use to disrupt them.

It’s useful to use the MITRE ATT&CK framework. MITRE ATT&CK is a large knowledgebase of attacker techniques that cybersecurity experts use to describe the attack kill chains observed, when studying threat activity. This post is going to use the Mitre ATT&CK framework to analyze specific techniques within the “lateral movement” category, describe how each technique works, and detail how Cisco’s SSE solution, Cisco Secure Access, can protect you from them.

Lateral Movement

Lateral movement is a critical phase in the cyber kill chain. Once attackers have breached a single system or user account, they need to expand their presence within the network to access valuable resources, sensitive data, or more permissive privileges. Lateral movement allows attackers to establish a foothold within the network, expand their reach, and achieve their objectives.

Attackers use a variety of techniques, such as exploiting remote services or infecting shared resources, to move horizontally across the network and gain unauthorized access to more critical systems or privileged accounts. By maneuvering laterally, attackers can evade detection, maintain persistence, and maximize the impact of their attack.

In its Enterprise Matrix, the Mitre ATT&CK framework describes lateral movement as a category made up of nine techniques, several with numerous sub-techniques. While that is too much to cover in this blog post, let’s analyze a few of the most common techniques.

Exploitation of Remote Services

One of the key techniques used in lateral movement is the exploitation of remote services. In this technique, attackers are looking for a vulnerable or misconfigured service that they can exploit to gain access to the system it is running on. From there, they will continue to exploit the remote system, often establishing persistence so they can return to the system over and over again and use it as launchpad to pivot deeper into the network.

Attackers usually start with discovering what services are running on a company’s remote systems, and they use a variety of discovery techniques to determine if any of them are vulnerable to compromise. Most services have had some sort of vulnerability at some point, and if any of them are left unpatched and outdated, that vulnerability may be active. For example, in 2017, the WannaCry ransomware used an exploit called EternalBlue, which took advantage of a vulnerability in the server message block (SMB) protocol, to spread around the world. In addition, applications that may be used in the internal network, such as MySQL, may contain vulnerabilities that attackers can exploit. While many of these vulnerabilities may have patches available for them, oftentimes it is difficult to patch a resource or easy to overlook it, leaving them vulnerable to attacks.

Remote Services

Sometimes, the attacker doesn’t need to attack the remote service itself, but instead, they can use valid credentials that have been stolen some other way to utilize remote services intended for employees. In this attack, the attacker obtains stolen credentials through techniques such as phishing or credential stuffing.

Once they have these credentials, they can use remote access services such as secure shell (SSH) or remote desktop protocol (RDP) to move deeper into the network. Sometimes these credentials are used in centralized identity management with single sign-on, which gives the attacker wide reach in the network if they can successfully authenticate with the central identity provider.

In some cases, legitimate applications may utilize remote services, such as software deployment tools or native remote desktop applications, which can sometimes be abused to obtain remote code execution or lateral movement.

Taint Shared Content

Attackers may gain access to a shared resource, such as a shared storage location like a cloud storage provider. In these cases, attackers can leverage this access to inject malicious programs, scripts, or exploit code to otherwise legitimate files. When a user accesses the tainted shared content, the malicious payload executes, giving the adversary access to the remote system, allowing to move laterally deeper into the network.

For example, in April 2023, Google’s Cybersecurity Action Team described a rise in threat actors using Google Drive to deliver malware and exfiltrate data. The report detailed a nation-state attack that was delivering an ISO file containing a malicious DLL via Google Drive. Another threat actor stored malware on Google Drive to evade detection and sent phishing emails that contained links to the malicious file. Yet another threat actor used Google Drive as location to exfiltrate data to.

How Cisco Secure Access Can Help

Lateral movement is critical component of the cyber kill chain. Properly addressing lateral movement requires a combination of threat detection and policy enforcement. One of the challenges organizations face when preventing lateral movement, or cyberattacks in general, is the high number of remote users. In the past, organizations relied on virtual private networks (VPNs) to enable remote users to access private company resources and to browse the Internet with the protection of corporate security.

There are a few challenges to relying so heavily on VPNs. For one, most companies built their VPN architecture to serve a small minority of users. As remote and hybrid work became commonplace, users stretched the capacity of VPNs, often leading to performance problems. This leads users to disconnect from VPNs where possible just to stay productive, which jeopardizes security.

The other problem is zero trust access policies on VPNs are difficult, often requiring managing large and complex access control lists. This has led to a scenario where many companies do not segment VPN traffic at all. This means that once an attacker gains access to a corporate VPN, they can move laterally throughout the network with relative ease. In recent years, this has been a component of several high-profile breaches.

Cisco Secure Access was designed to protect remote users, wherever they are and whatever they are accessing, and to secure corporate resources that must now be accessible over the Internet.

This involves placing private apps behind a layer of protection using Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA). This technology places a security boundary around your applications, and, as the name implies, applies zero trust access policies to any user trying to connect to the protected resource. These policies can be as simple as ensuring a user is authenticated with MFA to posture assessments, such as ensuring they are using an updated operating system or a corporate-managed device. It also supports logical group policies, such as ensuring only engineers can access code repositories or only sales and support can access customer relationship management solutions.

These policies are applied on a per-user and per-application basis, which creates segmentation between applications. This is critical in preventing lateral movement. If an attacker manages to bypass authentication and all access policies, their reach is limited only to that application. They are unable to pivot deeper into the network.

ZTNA isn’t the right choice for every application, which is why Cisco Secure Access also uses an integrated VPN-as-a-service (VPNaaS) for a complete Zero Trust Access solution. This allows organizations to move off physical VPN infrastructure, improving performance for end users and reducing management headaches. It is also fully integrated into Cisco Secure Access’ unified policy management, ensuring there is still segmentation and zero trust policy enforcement.

In addition, Secure Access includes an integrated Firewall-as-a-service (FWaaS) with an intrusion prevention system. This protects traffic over non-web protocols and blocks vulnerabilities such as those used by WannaCry ransomware.

The other part of preventing lateral movement is blocking initial access by protecting the user when they are surfing the Internet. This is done by blocking phishing websites, blocking malware, and enforcing data loss prevention policies. This greatly decreases the likelihood the user’s account or machine will become compromised, which can prevent attackers from ever getting to the lateral movement phase of the kill chain.

Cisco Secure Access cancan deliver all these outcomes and capabilities by unifying twelve different security technologies into a single, unified, cloud-delivered platform. This is known as a security service edge (SSE) solution. At its core, an SSE solution provides secure access to the Internet, cloud services, and private applications for users, regardless of where they are located. It delivers zero trust access control, threat protection, data security, and acceptable use policy enforcement for all users and resources. SSE is the security component of the secure access service edge (SASE) architecture, which combines networking and security to streamline operations, increase security resilience, provide end-to-end protection, and securely connect users to resources.

Cisco Secure Access provides a better experience for end users by simplifying access flows. Users no longer need to worry about managing VPN connections. When they try to access applications, it just works. It also makes IT management easier. It uses a single, unified policy management dashboard for all its component parts. Lastly, it makes everyone safer by leveraging advanced security capabilities to mitigate risk.

To learn more about Cisco Secure Access, watch the webinar Deep Dive into a Modern Zero Trust Access (ZTA) Architecture.

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

InstagramFacebookTwitterLinkedIn

"}]]  Stop lateral movement in its track with zero trust access.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Welcome “Investigate API” into the Cisco Cloud Security API experience

Developers and engineers can now leverage the new Umbrella API authentication to create API keys. This includes access to… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

Welcome “Investigate API” into the Cisco Cloud Security API experience

Developers and engineers can now leverage the new Umbrella API authentication to create API keys. This includes access to Investigate API alongside other Umbrella APIs, utilizing a modern OAuth2 mechanism. Previously, the process for authenticating the Investigate API involved generating a specific Investigate API token (basic authentication) via the Investigate section in the user interface.

Cisco customers and partners can also extensively utilize the Investigate API to enhance the data in their Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems, threat intelligence platforms, or incident management workflows. This enables them to promptly identify critical security events and provide additional information for security analysts and incident responders. The Investigate API is also a fundamental component in major integrations, such as Cisco XDR.

In the screenshot below you can see how you can now set the description for the related API Key in the Umbrella dashboard.

If we take into account cases where clients integrate Umbrella with a lot of 3d party platforms, descriptions can provide clarity as to the use of related API credentials. For example, you can add a description like “Investigate API Key with Read/Write admin scope for Splunk.”

Restrict API access from specific IPs

Limiting API access for a given API Key to a specific IP address or range of addresses is now possible. This significant security enhancement guarantees that customer API requests originate solely from secure and authorized locations. DevSecOps teams and administrators can now enforce that these requests are made exclusively from designated IP addresses or ranges and work with both IPv4 and IPv6 sources.

A few more API updates

You can now seamlessly apply Internal Domains to Sites from the existing POST request.
For Application Discovery, now it’s possible to get a list of application attributes, including Vulnerabilities, Application Security, Access Controls, Audibility, and others for detected applications.
For a list of Application API operation, It’s now possible to sort by Weighted Risk and Last Detected (in addition to First Detected).

Try these updates in the DevNet Sandbox

Give it a try! Play with these updates using the Umbrella DevNet Sandbox.

"}]]  See how developers can utilize the Investigate API to enhance the data in their Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems, threat intelligence platforms, or incident management workflows.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Today, I am thrilled to share exciting changes to Cisco’s Executive Leadership Team that are designed to accelerate our innovation, drive greater simplicity, and double-down on our growth e… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

Today, I am thrilled to share exciting changes to Cisco’s Executive Leadership Team that are designed to accelerate our innovation, drive greater simplicity, and double-down on our growth efforts.

Our world is becoming increasingly complex and unpredictable. At Cisco, we deliver innovation that helps our customers navigate the uncertainty, stay resilient and ahead of the curve, and solve some of their most complicated problems. With the rapid adoption of AI and other new technologies, we have the opportunity to solve critical customer and global issues that may have once seemed unsolvable. We are laser focused on these efforts, and we believe the changes we are sharing today will help us reach these faster and result in differentiated innovation, simplified experiences for our customers, partners, and teams, and long-term growth for Cisco.

Effective immediately, Liz Centoni will serve as our new Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Experience Officer, Thimaya Subaiya will become our new Executive Vice President of Operations, and Mark Patterson will expand his role as my Chief of Staff to become our new Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, leading Corporate Strategy, Corporate Development, and our Emerging Technology and Incubation efforts.

Liz Centoni, EVP and Chief Customer Experience Officer

In her 23 years at Cisco, Liz has been at the center of developing, executing, and evangelizing key Cisco technologies such as Cloud, Compute, and IoT. Most recently, she has served as our EVP, Chief Strategy Officer and GM of Applications.

As our EVP and Chief Customer Experience Officer, Liz will leverage her rich technical expertise and passion for customers to accelerate customer success and adoption across our portfolio. She will apply new and emerging technologies, particularly AI, to better serve our customers and partners and deliver unparalleled experiences in new and innovative ways.

Her commitment to customer advocacy and core belief in the power of technology will be an incredible foundation for her success in this new role.

As part of this, Alistair Wildman, who has led our CX organization over the past year, will work with Liz in an advisory capacity before embarking on his next step. During his time leading our CX organization globally and for EMEA, Alistair has built a world-class team and we have been very fortunate to have his leadership over the past six years.

At this time, the Cisco Observability portfolio, inclusive of Full Stack Observability (FSO) and Cisco AppDynamics, will continue under Liz’s leadership.

Thimaya Subaiya, EVP, Operations

Thimaya will serve as our new EVP of Operations. Since joining Cisco six years ago, he has led our CX organization, and spent the last year as our Chief Transformation Officer, leading a company-wide effort to accelerate our strategic shift to more software and subscriptions. A critical part of his charter was to streamline our processes, simplify our tools for productivity, and make it easier for our customers and partners to do business with us. Through this work, Thimaya has an extensive and unique understanding of what is required to achieve success.

In his new role, Thimaya will take his experience leading CX and transformation efforts at Cisco and operational expertise at previous companies, to evolve and implement our capabilities across Cisco – balancing innovation, simplicity, and optimization to drive scale, expansion, and growth. His ability to build relationships across large organizations, influence and understand stakeholders, and bring them along to accelerate change will lead to greater efficiency, productivity, and simplicity in our Operations.

Mark Patterson, EVP and Chief Strategy Officer

Mark joined Cisco over 23 years ago and has been a business partner to me personally for more than 17 years. He currently serves as my Chief of Staff where he leads corporate planning and critical, high-growth cross-company initiatives.

In this expanded new role, we will bring together Mark’s current organization with our Corporate Strategy, Corporate Development, and Incubation efforts to drive Cisco’s growth strategy through acquisitions, strategic partnerships, investments, co-development, and innovation. This will help us move quickly to capture opportunities that better both our portfolio and our business. Bringing these teams together will also further align our organic and inorganic innovation efforts with our overall strategy with a laser focus on growth and simplicity.

Mark’s industry knowledge, background in finance and strategy, and deep customer relationships across the globe make him the right leader for this organization.

Focus on the Future

I have no doubt that these three leaders will bring fresh perspectives and innovative thinking to their new roles to accelerate what’s going well and identify and adjust where changes are needed. Change is certainly not new to Cisco as we have fundamentally revamped our business model, let go of outdated legacies, and are always looking at how we evolve to best serve the needs of our customers.

We are very fortunate to be a part of some of the most exciting technological revolutions in our history, and our collective belief that the innovation we build can make the impossible possible is what fuels us. I am excited to see all that Liz, Thimaya, and Mark, along with their teams, will achieve as we drive growth for Cisco and unparalleled experiences for our customers, partners, and people.

"}]]  Announcing changes to Cisco’s Executive Leadership Team that are designed to accelerate our innovation, drive greater simplicity, and double-down on our growth efforts.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

The future of healthcare is coming into focus! Now more than ever, we believe that technology is a critical enabler to reinventing our care delivery model.  We have an opportunity to bring accessible … Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

The future of healthcare is coming into focus! Now more than ever, we believe that technology is a critical enabler to reinventing our care delivery model.  We have an opportunity to bring accessible care to all, make a meaningful impact, and contribute to a better and brighter future to our communities. Patients and clinicians want convenient, personalized care that accommodates their lifestyles and preferences. From patient engagement and data-driven workflows, to operational transformation and industry-leading security, we have the tools needed for our customers to succeed. Cisco’s purpose is to power an inclusive future for all, and we are committed to best supporting you as you reimagine the care delivery model for the future.  Cisco has innovative solutions that lay the foundation for a more connected, resilient and sustainable future in healthcare.

Join our team at HIMSS 2024 and learn firsthand why healthcare organizations like yours trust Cisco. With the unmatched breadth and performance of our portfolio, our customers across healthcare can focus on what they do best, which is caring for patients.

Join us!

Here’s what you need to know and what to do next regarding Cisco’s presence at HIMSS 2024:

Explore our microsite for the latest information.
Join the conversation and visit Cisco at our booth #3961 to experience and check out what’s possible for a more connected, secure, and sustainable future in healthcare.
Schedule a meeting with a Cisco subject matter expert or with me. Our team is available for onsite meetings to help discuss your specific business needs. Contact your sales representative to schedule a meeting.
There is more for you to explore through our demo and in-booth theater sessions during the event. Stop by daily for our 15-minute sessions highlighting the latest innovative solutions laying the foundation for a more connected, and secure future in healthcare. Hear from featured Cisco customers, partners, and industry innovators.

"}]]  Join our healthcare team at HIMSS 2024, and learn firsthand why healthcare organizations like yours trust Cisco.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

Process Vast Amounts of MELT Data

Cisco Observability Platform s designed to ingest and process vast amounts of MELT (Metrics, Events, Logs and Traces) data. It is built on top of open standards like… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[["value":"

Process Vast Amounts of MELT Data

Cisco Observability Platform s designed to ingest and process vast amounts of MELT (Metrics, Events, Logs and Traces) data. It is built on top of open standards like OpenTelemetry to ensure interoperability.

What sets it apart is its provision of extensions, empowering our partners and customers to tailor every facet of its functionality to their unique needs. Our focus today is unveiling the intricacies of customizations specifically tailored for data processing. It is expected that you have an understanding of the platform basics, like Flexible Metadata Model (FMM) and solution development. Let’s dive in!

Understanding Data Processing Stages

The data processing pipeline has various stages that lead to data storage. As MELT data moves through the pipeline, it is processed, transformed, and enriched, and eventually lands in the data store where it can be queried with Unified Query Language (UQL):

Each stage marked with a gear icon allows customization of specific logic. Furthermore, the platform enables the creation of entirely custom post-processing logic when data can no longer be altered.

To streamline customization while maintaining flexibility, we are embracing a new approach: workflows, taps, and plugins, utilizing the CNCF Serverless Workflow specification with JSONata as the default expression language. Since Serverless Workflows are designed using open standards, we are extensively utilizing CloudEvents and OpenAPI specifications. By leveraging these open standards, we ensure compatibility and ease of development.

Data processing stages that allow data mutation are called taps, and their customizations plugins. Each tap declares an input and output JSON schema for its plugins. Plugins are expected to produce an output that adheres to the tap’s output schema. A tap is responsible for merging outputs from all its plugins and producing a new event, which is a modified version of an original event. Taps can only be authored by the platform, while plugins can be created by any solution as well as regular users of the platform.

Workflows are meant for post-processing and thus can only subscribe to triggers (see below). Workflow use cases range from simple event counting to sophisticated machine learning model inferences. Anyone can author workflows.

This abstraction allows developers to reason in terms of a single event, without exposing the complexity of the underlying stream processing, and use familiar well documented standards, both of which lower the barrier of entry.

Events as a connecting tissue

Each data processing stage communicates with other stages via events, which allows us to decouple consumers and producers and seamlessly rearrange the stages should the need arise.
Each event has an associated category, which determines whether a specific stage can subscribe to or publish that event. There are two public categories for data-related events:

data:observation – a category of events with publish-only permissions which can be thought of as side-effects of processing the original event, for example, an entity derived from resource attributes in OpenTelemetry metric packet. Observations are indicated with upward ‘publish’ arrows in the above diagram. Taps, workflows and plugins can all produce observations. Observations can only be subscribed to by specific taps.
data:trigger – subscribe-only events that are emitted after all the mutations have completed. Triggers are indicated with a lightning ‘trigger’ icon in the above diagram. Only workflows (post-processing logic) can subscribe to triggers, and only specific taps can publish them.

There are five observation event types in the platform:

entity.observed – FMM entity was discovered while processing some data. It can be a new entity or an update to an existing entity. Each update from the same source fully replaces the previous one.
association.observed – FMM association was discovered while processing some data. Depending on the cardinality of the association the update logic differs
extension.observed – FMM extension attributes were discovered while processing some data. A target entity must already exist.
measurement.received – a measurement event which contributes to a specific FMM metric. These measurements will be aggregated into a metric in Metric aggregation tap. Aggregation logic depends on the metric’s content type.
event.received – raises a new FMM event. This event will also be processed by the Event processing tap, just like externally ingested events.

There are 3 trigger event types in the platform, one for each data kind: metric.enriched, event.enriched, trace.encriched. All three events are emitted from the final ‘Tag enrichment’ tap.

Each event is registered in a platform’s knowledge store, so that they are easily discoverable. To list all available events, simply use fsoc to query them, i.e., to get all triggers:

fsoc knowledge get --type=contracts:cloudevent --filter="data.category eq 'data:trigger'" --layer-type=TENANT

Note that all event types are versioned to allow for evolution and are qualified with platform solution identifier for isolation. For example, a fully qualified id of measurement.received event is platform:measurement.received.v1

Authoring Workflows: A Practical Example

Let’s illustrate the above concepts with a straightforward example. Consider a workflow designed to count health rule violations for Kubernetes workloads and APM services. The logic of the workflow can be broken down into several steps:

Subscribe to the trigger event
Validate event type and entity relevance
Publish a measurement event counting violations while retaining severity

Development Tools

Developers can utilize various tools to aid in workflow development, such as web-based editors or IDEs.

web-based editor
VS Code with Kogito editor or default extension
any IDE that integrates with org, i.e. Intellij IDEA

It’s crucial to ensure expressions and logic are valid through unit tests and validation against defined schemas.

To aid in that, you can write unit tests by utilizing stated, see an example for this workflow.Online JSONata editor can also be a helpful tool in writing your expressions.

A blog on workflow testing is coming soon!

Step by Step Guide

Create the workflow DSL

Provide a unique identifier and a name for your workflow:

id: violations-counter
version: '1.0.0'
specVersion: '0.8'
name: Violations Counter

Find the trigger event

Let’s query our trigger using fsoc:

fsoc knowledge get --type=contracts:cloudevent --object-id=platform:event.enriched.v1 --layer-type=TENANT

Output:

type: event.enriched.v1
description: Indicates that an event was enriched with topology tags
dataschema: contracts:jsonSchema/platform:event.v1
category: data:trigger
extensions:
- contracts:cloudeventExtension/platform:entitytypes
  - contracts:cloudeventExtension/platform:source

Subscribe to the event

To subscribe to this event, you need to add an event definition and event state referencing this definition (note a nature of the reference to the event – it must be qualified with its knowledge type):

events:
  - name: EventReceived
    type: contracts:cloudevent/platform:event.enriched.v1
   kind: consumed
   dataOnly: false
   source: platform
states:
- name: event-received
   type: event
   onEvents:
     - eventRefs:
          - EventReceived

Inspect the event

Since the data in workflows is received in JSON format, event data is described in JSON schema.

Let’s look at the JSON schema of this event (referenced in dataschema), so you know what to expect in our workflow:

fsoc knowledge get --type=contracts:jsonSchema --object-id=platform:event.v1 --layer-type=TENANT
Result:
$schema: http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#
title: Event
$id: event.v1
type: object
required:
- entities
- type
- timestamp
properties:
entities:
   type: array
   minItems: 1
   items:
     $ref: '#/definitions/EntityReference'
type:
   $ref: '#/definitions/TypeReference'
timestamp:
   type: integer
   description: The timestamp in milliseconds
spanId:
   type: string
   description: Span id
traceId:
   type: string
   description: Trace id
raw:
   type: string
   description: The raw body of the event record
attributes:
   $ref: '#/definitions/Attributes'
tags:
   $ref: '#/definitions/Tags'
additionalProperties: false
definitions:
Tags:
   type: object
   propertyNames:
     minLength: 1
     maxLength: 256
   additionalProperties:
     type: string
Attributes:
   type: object
   propertyNames:
     minLength: 1
     maxLength: 256
   additionalProperties:
     type:
       - string
       - number
       - boolean
       - object
       - array
EntityReference:
   type: object
   required:
     - id
     - type
   properties:
     id:
        type: string
      type:
        $ref: '#/definitions/TypeReference'
      additionalProperties: false
  TypeReference:
    type: string
    description: A fully qualified FMM type reference
    example: k8s:pod

It’s straightforward – a single event, with one or more entity references. Since dataOnly=false, the payload of the event will be enclosed in the data field, and extension attributes will also be available to the workflow.
Since we know the exact FMM event type we are interested in, you can also query its definition to understand the attributes that the workflow will be receiving and their semantics:

fsoc knowledge get --type=fmm:event --filter="data.name eq "healthrule.violation" and data.namespace.name eq "alerting"" --layer-type=TENANT

Validate event relevance

You’ll need to ensure that the event you receive is of the correct FMM event type, and that referenced entities are relevant. To do this, you can write an expression in JSONata and then use it in an action condition:

functions:
  - name: checkType
   type: expression
   operation: ]]  Cisco Observability Platform is designed to ingest and process vast amounts of MELT (Metrics, Events, Logs and Traces) data. It is built on top of open standards like OpenTelemetry to ensure interoperability. See how its provision of extensions let you tailor every facet of its functionality to your unique needs.  Read More Cisco Blogs 

In times of crisis, a richly diverse group of volunteers brings not just dedication to the cause and a passion for helping people, but the creativity needed to get tough jobs done.

When natural… Read more on Cisco Blogs

​[[{"value":"

In times of crisis, a richly diverse group of volunteers brings not just dedication to the cause and a passion for helping people, but the creativity needed to get tough jobs done.

When natural disasters and humanitarian crises strike, Cisco is uniquely positioned to help vulnerable people around the world thanks to both our dedicated Cisco Crisis Response (CCR) team as well as more than 700 employee volunteers who are ready to deploy at a moment’s notice.

Recently, two of those volunteers attended our first post-Covid in-person CCR volunteer training and found the experience so valuable, they wanted to share it. Here they are, in their own words.

“I knew I had to become a volunteer!”

Micaela Cacho- Negrete, CCR volunteer

My name is Micaela Cacho-Negrete. I joined Cisco just about a year ago, and I am in the People, Policy & Purpose (3P) FLEX program, which is an early-in-career leadership development rotational program. I am rotating in the PSI (Purpose Strategy & Innovation) organization, as an Innovation Solutions Analyst.

I’m early in my career and came from a background of volunteering with underserved communities in college. I joined Cisco in part because of its strong sense of corporate purpose and the many opportunities there are to be a part of that work. I started looking for the right place for me to get involved. When I found out this community existed at Cisco, I knew I had to become a volunteer.

Even though I’m from a non-technical background, the CCR team was immediately welcoming and empowered me to take training and start contributing as a volunteer immediately.

I was especially thankful to attend a two-day in-person training in San Jose, Calif. I learned about the technology used to create Wi-Fi networks—often a critical piece of reestablishing communications in the wake of disasters and crises. I also had the opportunity to see the NERV truck, a ruggedized, resilient mobile command and communications vehicle that can provide mission-critical networking after catastrophes.

Cisco Crisis Response NERV truck. Check out this virtual reality tour of the NERV to get a look inside.

The second day of our training was a field deployment exercise with the Spring Valley Volunteer Fire Department at their training center in Milpitas, Calif., to see how we would handle specific assignments in case of a wildfire.

For this simulation, we split up into two teams, each tasked with responding to requests we might encounter during a wildfire. I was the designated public information officer and had a chance to practice communicating urgent information between volunteer teams and deployment partners. It was incredibly rewarding to use my skills in this way.

I appreciate the preparation Cisco has provided us so we can be ready to be deployed to help communities in times of crisis.

“I love using our technology to solve real world problems”

Lyle Tanner, Crisis Response volunteer

I’m Lyle Tanner. I’ve been a CCR Community volunteer for several years and have deployed to incidents in Arizona, New Mexico, and Hawaii.

As a Solutions Engineer for nearly 14 years at Cisco, I love using our technology to solve real world problems. As a former reserve firefighter and EMT, I’ve always valued helping others in their times of need.

The CCR Community allows me the opportunity to combine these diverse career and life experiences to make a meaningful impact in the world by not only directly contributing to humanitarian aid and disaster relief efforts, but also teaching and mentoring our other volunteers as well.

Day One of our training was a series of instructor-led classroom sessions. It’s critical that volunteers stay current on the latest tools and technologies we use during a crisis to provide secure network communications to emergency first responders, NGO partners, aid workers, and refugees. Some of the great resources Cisco brings to those in need include:

Mesh Response Kits
Rapid Response Kits
Emergency Community Kits
Emergency Communications Units
Network Emergency Response Vehicle (NERV)

As Micaela mentioned above, for Day Two, we did some serious hands-on training for which we split into two teams.

Setting up a solar powered Cisco Meraki Wi-Fi mesh network

Team One had two assignments. The first was to deliver high-speed Wi-Fi internet connectivity to the wildfire incident command staging area. We were challenged with limited line-of-sight to the sky, no cellular connectivity, and needing to make the Wi-Fi available to a wide physical area. To do this, we used the Cisco NERV, VSAT backhaul, Meraki MX gateway, and Meraki Outdoor Wireless Mesh.

The second assignment was to establish and maintain high-speed Wi-Fi internet access for aid workers and displaced residents at an evacuation site.

Inside NERV command center

In this case, we had no shore power, and needed to create two separate Wi-Fi networks—one for aid workers and one for evacuated residents—and each needed the appropriate quality of service policy. To create these Wi-Fi networks, we used a Mesh Response Kit, a Starlink High Performance Kit, and a portable generator.

Team Two also had two assignments. First, they needed to set up a call center for the logistics team working at the incident command location. They needed to be able to make outbound phone calls and receive inbound phone calls. In this case, the team was confronted with the need for low latency, low-loss Internet backhaul to support VoIP, and redundant Internet backhaul.

Team Two also needed to deliver high-speed Wi-Fi internet connectivity at a remote “spike camp” to support firefighting crews close to the active fire line. They also had to do this with low latency, as well as high bandwidth Internet backhaul, and no shore power or generators available.

These trainings were intense and full of information. Our volunteers did a great job with all the simulations and constraints they encountered, and it was exciting to see how our volunteer community worked together to problem-solve.

Volunteers Power Community

When it comes to crisis response and communications, there’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution.

Together, the CCR volunteers and the volunteers at the Spring Valley Volunteer Fire Department brought a wealth of technical expertise as well as a wide variety of life experience, skills, and interests. In times of crisis, a richly diverse group of volunteers brings not just dedication to the cause and a passion for helping people, but the creativity needed to get tough jobs done.

Volunteer team members working together during training exercise

Volunteers—from Cisco, from our partners, and from the community—play an integral role in fulfilling CCR’s mission. We thank Spring Valley Volunteer Fire Department for hosting our training and for keeping our communities safe every day.

There are so many ways for each of us to give to our communities. Whether you have special expertise or just a willing heart, look for ways to get involved. You can ask your employer or friends and family, or look for local nonprofit organizations.

"}]]  Cisco employee volunteers talk about their experience with hands-on disaster response training, and how they combine their passion for service with both technical and non-technical skills to create connectivity in crisis conditions.  Read More Cisco Blogs