Cisco Unveils New Security Strategy for the Cloud
Just before the kickoff of RSA’s annual conference, Cisco unveiled its plan for “a global, cloud-delivered, integrated security and networking service for organizations of any shape and size.” The company proclaimed its Security Cloud to be the industry’s most open platform, protecting the integrity of the entire IT ecosystem without public cloud lock-in. Cisco also expects the offering to open doors to innovation, enabling the use of third-party solutions through its open APIs.
In a June 6 press release, Jeetu Patel, executive vice president and general manager of security and collaboration at Cisco, said, “With the complexity of hybrid work, continued acceleration of cloud adoption, and the ever-advancing threat landscape, organizations are looking for a trusted partner to help them achieve security resilience. We believe Cisco is uniquely positioned due to its scale, breadth of solutions and cloud-neutral business model to meet their needs.”
“Cisco is already delivering upon key tenets of our cloud platform vision,” Patel continued. “We’re excited to increase our innovation velocity to truly deliver on the vision of the Cisco Security Cloud, an open, integrated networking and security platform.”
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How Cisco’s New Strategy Offers Simplicity and Enhanced Security
The Security Cloud implements what Cisco refers to as “the next generation of zero trust,” which demands continuous trusted access. And while it’s elevating the level of protection it offers, the company says its security will be delivered via “less intrusive methods for risk-based authentication, including the patent-pending Wi-Fi Fingerprint as an effective location proxy without compromising user privacy.”
TK Keanini, vice president and CTO of Cisco Secure, noted at the conference that identity has become central to the security conversation. “You not only need to be you when you pick up the phone and start the call, right? But the system needs to prove that you're still you in minute five, minute 10. And it's given rise to a category in security called continuous trusted access.”
In an effort to reduce complexity, Cisco also introduced Cisco+ Secure Connect Now, a unified secure access service edge solution, which will be offered as an as-a-service subscription optimized for value and managed through a unified dashboard. “Cisco+ Secure Connect Now is a turnkey offer available in several countries that allows customers to quickly deploy SASE and ease day-to-day operations through a cloud-managed platform,” according to the company’s press release.