Two and a half years after the pandemic outbreak, 66% of employees want more flexibility in the work schedule, by permanently adopting the hybrid way of working. Employers are still reluctant because the change poses multiple challenges, including cybersecurity-related, and companies do not have all the skills and solutions they need.

Hybrid work requires extended perimeter security, and for this Datanet Systems recommends adopting an architecture that integrates multiple Cisco solutions. The proposed approach ensures the protection of employees, data, and IT systems and is characterized by performance, accessibility, rapid production, and efficient administration.

 

Email, the weak link for most companies

The first level of security architecture recommended by Datanet provides protection against attacks targeting email accounts and web pages. Nowadays, email is the gateway for over 90% of attacks that infiltrate organizations. To control this risk, Datanet recommends Cisco Secure Email, a solution that provides:

• High level of protection – the Cisco solution is constantly being in the top of the most advanced Email Protection applications;
  Commercial flexibility – the solution is available as physical equipment or virtual instance, as well as Cloud service, allowing hybrid work scenarios;
• Complex features – using Threat Intelligence services and Machine Learning algorithms, Cisco Secure Email automatically detects abnormal behaviours. At the same time, it can proactively block threats that manage to bypass terminal-level protection measures, using complex filtering methods, Sandbox environments, real-time analysis tools;
• Protection of critical/confidential data – through its functionalities such as Data Loss Prevention and advanced encryption, the solution facilitates the regulations comply with the provisions in force (such as GDPR);
• Multiple integration options – with both Cisco products and applications from other vendors. For example, the Mailbox Auto-Remediation feature for Microsoft 365 and Microsoft Exchange automatically removes files identified as dangerous.

 

An umbrella with extended coverage

For the second attack vector to which all companies are exposed – compromised web pages – Datanet’s recommendation is Cisco Umbrella, an application that provides an efficient and fast way to improve security. The Cloud solution can be configured and used in just a few minutes and provides extended visibility, detection of compromised systems, and protection of employees wherever they are.

The main benefits of Datanet’s recommended solution are:

• Blocking threats before they come into contact with terminal equipment. Umbrella checks access requests to web pages and any other online destinations and proactively blocks those at potential risk before the connection is initiated or a file is downloaded. At the same time, by acting at the DNS level, the solution prevents compromised systems from transmitting data to attackers.
• Identifying the risk areas. Using Machine Learning algorithms and Threat Intelligence services, the solution searches, automatically identifies and sometimes can even predict which malicious areas are being proactively blocked.
• Improving the ability to investigate and respond to threats. Umbrella monitors all DNS activity – both normal and potentially risky – by providing extended visibility into Web traffic, which simplifies security investigations and reduces the number of false alerts. In addition, with the help of the integrated Cloud Access Security Broker functionalities, the application automatically detects the Cloud applications used – legitimate or not – within the company.

 

Online access is vital, but not secure

For a high level of Internet protection, Datanet recommends using the Cisco Secure Web, which provides several automatic methods for detecting and blocking advanced online threats (ransomware attacks, DDoS, SQL Injection, Cross-site Scripting, etc.). Thus, Cisco Secure Web provides:

• Extended protection – the solution uses the Threat Intelligence services delivered by the Cisco Talos expertise center and several types of scanners, to detect in real-time the URLs’ reputation and the type of content delivered, correlate data and perform dynamic analyzes, and based on the obtained scores, it allows or blocks employees’ access to those addresses.
• Visibility – Secure Web automatically identifies and classifies the most relevant and used web and mobile applications, as well as over 15,000 micro-applications.
• Control over applications and employee behavior – the solution can regulate bandwidth consumption and can dynamically apply predefined rules, depending on the user profile, the used device, the location of the access request, etc. Additionally, specific policies can be defined to control the use of applications delivered from the Cloud (SaaS).
• Compliance requirements – Secure Web can block the distribution of sensitive data outside the company network through the integrated features of Data Loss Prevention and the use of contextual rules.
• Centralized management – the solution management console allows centralized policy management, access to reports, and System Health Dashboard tools, to quickly detect problems.

Cisco Secure Web is a solution that can be quickly installed and configured, is available as hardware with multiple physical configurations, as well as a virtual instance or cloud service, and offers a 99.999% availability level.

 

The firewall, the pillar of security architecture

Companies need to proactively protect not only their employees but also the IT infrastructures they own and operate. To do this, Datanet recommends Cisco Secure Firewall solutions, a family of products with a wide range of configurations that allow organizations to flexibly adapt to hybrid scenarios.

Cisco’s next-generation firewalls provide companies with higher levels of visibility and control over the applications used by employees – in on-premises or cloud environments – as well as the ability to define and uniformly implement policies for the entire organization. To do this, the recommended products integrate advanced traffic filtering features – based on user identity or URL filtering for applications that do not support the use of Proxy servers -, analysis of encrypted traffic, control of access to applications based on employee identity, etc.

At the same time, firewalls simplify the processes of detecting, correlating, and remedying threats and vulnerabilities. For example, the integrated Intrusion Protection capabilities automatically inventory the systems which must be protected and make recommendations – based on the operating systems and protocols used – with the appropriate remedial action.

By achieving all these benefits delivered by Cisco firewalls, companies can get:

• Increased operational efficiency – by reducing the time required to update security policies on multiple devices by up to 95%,
• Improved speed of investigation and response by up to 83%,
• Reduced risk of exploiting security breaches by 80% and, as a result,
• Return of investment in less than a year.

 

Why Datanet?

To accomplish such results, companies need skills in both IT security and Cisco technologies, as well as integration areas, because the end result depends critically on how the recommended solutions work together.

By reaching out Datanet Systems’ services, as Cisco Gold Partner, you can benefit from:

• certified IT systems integrator skills and multi-vendor skills,
• solid experience gained in projects carried out in the field of critical security infrastructures,
• the competencies of the largest team of certified Cisco specialists in Romania,
• rapid technical assistance with national coverage and training in the administration and operation of the systems provided.

For more technical and commercial information about the Cisco integrated security architecture, the recommended solutions, and Datanet’s services, please contact us at sales@datanets.ro.

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Note: Original article published in profit.ro – here.

*References:
Cisco Global Hybrid Work Study 2022
Deloitte – 91% of all cyber-attacks begin with a phishing email to an unexpected victim
Forrester Research – The Total Economic Impact of Cisco Secure Firewall