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New email security release adds spoofing protection, auto-remediation of malware for Office 365 customers, AMP Private Cloud, and more.

There’s been a spike in ransomware and spear-phishing attacks in the last several months. Read any news outlet and you’ll find examples of health records and other valuable data being locked up, employees duped into releasing sensitive information or wire-transferring funds, and more. In fact, in April the FBI released a warning to businesses about a dramatic increase in email scams. It’s no surprise that a recent customer survey revealed that protecting against these types of threats is top of mind. At the same time, given the global shortage of skilled IT security professionals, every organization must do more with less.

At Cisco, we understand that you need effective security – simple, open and automated. Our new Cisco Email Security AsyncOS 10.0 release demonstrates how we’re innovating to meet this need with new threat-focused security capabilities designed to defeat increasingly sophisticated and targeted attacks, along with enhancements to increase operational agility.

Threat-focused Security

Protect Against Spoofing Attacks

From October 2013 to August 2015, the FBI estimated that Business Email Compromise (BEC) had cost companies $1.2B globally. This number was updated to $2.3B through February 2016. Spoofing attacks, a type of BEC, have focused particularly on executives considered high-value targets. AsyncOS 10.0 includes Forged Email Detection to help block these targeted attacks and provides detailed logs on all attempts and actions taken.

Office 365 Customers Can Automate Malware Remediation

When malware does infiltrate the network you need to remediate breaches fast. Office 365 customers can now automatically remediate malware with Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) retrospective security. The manual process of cleaning up infected mailboxes one by one and submitting tickets is now automated, freeing up resources to focus on running the business. Email administrators can simply set their email security solution to take automatic actions on those infected emails, for example deleting them, and access audit logs to track all actions taken on mailboxes.

AMP Private Cloud for Stringent Privacy Requirements

For customers in industries, markets or regions with stringent privacy mandates, Cisco Email Security now offers a new Advanced Malware Protection private cloud allowing customers to host their AMP file reputation cloud on-premises. This, along with the AMP Threat Grid appliance, brings the entire AMP offering completely on-premise. Simultaneously, customers still benefit from AMP public cloud updates.

Track specific URLs in an email for improved visibility

URL logging and message tracking helps pinpoint the specific URL within an email that caused it to be identified as malicious. This allows email administrators to understand their threat posture specific to malicious URLs and potentially tune their systems to thwart future attacks and remediate possible exposure.

Increased Efficiency and Ease-of-use

Improved AMP reporting

Administrators and management need greater visibility into malware and suspicious files, in a way that is quick to understand. Cisco Email Security now provides more informative AMP reporting providing clearer insight into the threats, the intended recipients of messages, and the files’ disposition.

Language detection

AsyncOS 10.0 detects the language of the email message and enables administrators to set policies and actions based on the detected language. They can then determine which configured content filter action to apply for each language; for example, add a specific disclaimer or bounce message.

Single sign-on to access centralized end-user spam quarantines

Keeping track of multiple user names and passwords takes time and effort. AsyncOS 10.0 eliminates the hassle, allowing Cloud Email Security customers to authenticate end users to their spam quarantine using their corporate credentials with Security Assertion Markup Language, or SAML-based authentication.

Find out more at www.cisco.com/go/emailsecurity.

Authors

Claudia Martinez

Product Marketing Manager, Email Security

Marketing & Communications

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There are two mindsets in business – one of scarcity and the other of abundance.

A scarcity mindset believes much, if not everything, is limited. A business with a scarcity mindset holds everything close to the vest and is uncomfortable or unwilling to do business beyond its own walls. The thinking is if another company gets a bit more, there’s less to go around.

Then there is the abundance mindset. I like this mindset because it is limitless and innovative. This mindset says:  Go ahead and take a piece of my pie. We can eat it until it’s gone. There’s not a shortage of pie. And, if we do run out, we can work together to make and introduce a new pie into the market that we and others can enjoy.

Partnerships Thrive When Everyone Works Together

Trust and collaboration are two words that come to mind when I think about operating from an abundance mindset. At Cisco, and within our Data and Analytics Group (DAG) specifically, it’s this mindset that has led to three recent landmark partnerships that I’d like to share with you.

  • Earlier this month, DAG announced a first of its kind technology collaboration with IBM to bring the world better analytics at the edge, in the fog or in the cloud. This global collaboration is designed to provide immediate, actionable insights at the point of data collection for businesses and organizations (i.e. oil rigs, factories, shipping companies and mines) in remote and autonomous locations.
  • The third and final collaboration I’d like to share with you is with Cisco’s partner, Dimension Data, and its outcome-based, Premium Service, IT Service Integration (ITSI). This subscription offering is enabled by Cisco ServiceGrid to help Dimension Data’s clients reduce the complexity of managing their multivendor technology. Just this month both Cisco and Dimension Data participated in an Outsourcing Institute industry webinar where we discussed Improving multi-vendor governance and achieving tighter IT buyer/vendor integration. You can watch the recording here:

https://youtu.be/k18k1PM3q6A

We are partnering with a technology company, a university focused on healthcare, and a service provider with similar aspirations for improving multivendor management. We each are giving the best of what we have and together we’re making technology and the world better. Partnerships are where tried and true companies work together to create tried and true solutions and this, in a nutshell, is what an abundant mindset in technology looks like.

Authors

Jim McDonnell

Director, General Manager

ServiceGrid, CMCP, UCSF Alliance

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Whether learning is synchronous or asynchronous, connectivity is mission critical to education and the retention of knowledge.

Online resources rich in media, expertise and interaction are abundant, but require quality connectivity so that the content experienced is the focus of the conversation rather than the connection itself. Technology must be transparent to the learning experience for both students and teachers. And, it must be ubiquitous! Regardless of the location that the student finds himself/herself in, they must be able to connect with the device they have on hand.

Connected Transportation for Education provides a mobile platform to allow connectivity to underserved or remote areas. This is paramount for high poverty families that may not have the financial capability to provide Internet access at home.

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Schools are already beginning to experiment with strategically parking buses in particular locations to allow geographic clusters of students and parents to access web resources. Mobile Internet access, distributable via the medium that everyone is familiar with (a school bus or school-authorized transportation vehicle), truly helps build a bridge across the connectivity gap.

Students are the beneficiaries of Connected Transportation for Education in several ways. First, they have Wi-Fi accessibility to online resources while enroute. As teachers record lessons, flip learning opportunities and make materials accessible for review, students need not “waste time” while traveling to and from school. When students ride the bus to a field trip, they can gain access to online resources that enhance the field trip experience. While on their daily route, students may be creating documents or videos and sharing them with their teachers or peers.

This solution can impact districts in multiple ways beyond just connectivity, to improve productivity, maintenance detection and turnaround time, and provide ultimately a safer transportation experience for students. The possibilities with this solution are truly amazing!

With Connected Transportation for Education, we’re paving the way to ubiquitous connectivity, ensuring equality in learning for all students.

Authors

Dr. Lance Ford

Education Advocate

Customer Experience Center

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You know you’re having a good day at Cisco when you win a Star Wars medal. For eating tater tots.

I am a security researcher in the Cisco Austin office, where our civic council often plans fun site-wide events including a “May the Fourth Be With You” party, “Bike to Work” day, and volunteer activities at local non-profit organizations.

Not so long ago, in a parking lot not too far away, Starch Wars happened. In the middle of the week I found myself scarfing down as many cold tater tots as possible in a minute along side several co-workers. Unfortunately, the force was stronger with my teammate Greg Franson, who took first place in the competition and was awarded the coveted Darth Vader Mr. Potato Head trophy. I still proudly claimed a second place medal for my chewing rate of 6 seconds per tater tot.

 

Tater Tot Eating Competition
Judge me by my size, do you?

Celebrating Star Wars Day and bad puns is just one thing that makes Cisco a great place to work. Another is how Cisco encourages us to build camaraderie while benefitting our local community through volunteer work. Our group took a break to visit the Special Olympics Texas warehouse as they were preparing for the Summer Games in Arlington, Texas. We spent the morning sorting and packing hundreds of t-shirts, backpacks, sunglasses, and award ribbons for different sporting events and sites.

Sorting clothes

Did you know what began in 1969 as a track and field event for 350 people with intellectual disabilities continues today as the largestthe team annual Special Olympics Texas state competition with over 3,000 athletes? True to our excessive eating tendencies, we finished this team building activity at a buffet, but without the competition this time.

Tater tot eating competitions and sorting merchandise absolutely did not make us better at reviewing code and writing scripts. However, these activities definitely made us a better team. Career tip – when you #LoveWhereYouWork, you realize it’s all about the people you work with.

 

Want to be part of doing great work with great people at Cisco? View open opportunities here.

 

Authors

Jennie Kam

Security Researcher

Security and Trust Organization

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Cisco Live is coming up fast and it promises to be the best yet. Digital Business Transformation will be in the spotlight this year in Las Vegas and our world-class experts will be sharing lots of fresh ideas about how mobile, cloud, and analytics can create new opportunities for energy companies.

There’s so much to see and do that you might find it a little overwhelming. Here are some of the top demos and sessions you won’t want to miss.

Energizing Oil & Gas and Utility Demos

Field Area Network—The smart grid is taking shape all around us and to make the most of it, utilities need great communications, pervasive monitoring, and total control of their energy distribution networks. We’ll talk about how Cisco Connected Grid solutions and industrial wireless can deliver the secure connections you need.

Industrial Physical & Cyber Security—Energy companies have huge investments in field equipment as well as their networks. If a pipeline fails or a pump goes down, you need to be the first to know. Find out how Cisco Security can help you detect and prevent internal and external attacks on control systems and take charge of cybersecurity incidents.

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Fleet, Asset and Field Worker Management—Energy companies are under constant pressure to get the most out of fleet production and keep costs in check. Discover how Cisco solutions make it easy for you to connect your fleet, assets, and field workers with your enterprise network. They’re secure, mobile, and intelligent.

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The Future is Here for Utilities

Join us on July 11th  at 7 AM in the MGM Ballroom for Cisco Utility Day. Cisco experts including Rob Soderbery, Rowan Trollope, and Nadya Bartol will join industry leaders in discussing how digitization is changing the way utilities think about their business and how you can keep pace. Topics will include:

  • Keynote—Digitization and Impact on the Industry
  • The Future Grid— Grid Modernization Index
  • Changing Business Models and Strategies for Growth
  • Managing the IT/OT Convergence

Utilities Speaker Sessions

  • Physical Security Considerations for Utilities – Wednesday at 5:45 PM

Energy Speaker Sessions

  • The Digital Industrial Transformation and the IoT Portfolio – Thursday at 8:30 AM

If you haven’t registered already, you can do so here. See you in Las Vegas!

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Authors

Eric Ehlers

No Longer at Cisco

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From Europe to Asia, leading nations are looking to take a leadership position in the next generation of mobile technologies – collectively referred to as “5G”.

Funding research, signing Memoranda of Understanding, and using sports venues to create a platform for national champions, these countries understand that 5G will be an important technology. Each of them wants their economies to be play a leading role in the supply chain.

Here in the US, the fervor for 5G is equally strong, but there is a decidedly more straightforward and pragmatic approach. As highlighted today, in a major speech given by FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler at the National Press Club, the government’s contribution to 5G is to make significant amounts of radio spectrum available for new 5G technologies, a simple but highly impactful approach to fostering 5G innovation in the United States.

And the FCC Chairman is hoping other countries take note:

Unlike some countries, we do not believe we should spend the next couple of years studying what 5G should be, how it should operate, and how to allocate spectrum, based on those assumptions…. Turning innovators loose is far preferable to expecting committees and regulators to define the future. We won’t wait for the standards to be first developed in the sometimes arduous standards-setting process or in a government-led activity. Instead, we will make ample spectrum available and then rely on a private sector-led process for producing technical standards best suited for those frequencies and use cases.

That is exactly what the FCC did when it decided to take a leadership role in the development of 4G, and it is following the same playbook with 5G.

Except this time the FCC is moving faster. Its plan to allocate thousands of megahertz of millimeter wave spectrum at 28 GHz, 37 GHz and 39 GHz for licensed use, and at 64-71 GHz for unlicensed use will have moved from proposal stage to decision in nine short months.

So what do we hope 5G will be and why will it be better than 4G? Well, for starters, 4G is a “one size fits all” broadband access technology. 5G will be an infinitely more flexible set of capabilities that will support everything from low latency, low bandwidth applications to anticipated bandwidth-intensive activities such as virtual reality. In short, the future of wireless is 5G, and with the FCC’s action next month, the US will play a key role in its development.

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Cisco Live is coming up fast and it promises to be the best yet. Digital Business Transformation will be in the spotlight this year in Las Vegas and our world-class experts will be sharing how the factory of the future is already here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXT8WdEa_Gk&feature=youtu.be

There’s so much to see and do that you might find it a little overwhelming. Here are some of the top demos and sessions you won’t want to miss.

Our Top 3 Demos

Mazak SmartBox—What if you could build a smart factory that gives you real-time insight into the machines on your manufacturing line, using the Industrial Internet of Things? Mazak, a global leader in the design and manufacturing of machine tools, is using Cisco Connected Factory solutions to spot problems on any machine before they happen, to minimize downtime.

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Secure File Transfer: Digital Intellectual Property Protection—Security isn’t just for enterprise networks. As your factory gets more connected and intelligent, you’re storing and sharing more sensitive data. We’ll show how you can securely transfer and protect your critical intellectual property remotely, using Cisco industrial hardened routers, switches, and security solutions.

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Real Time Manufacturing Analytics—Building a more connected factory is great, but getting data isn’t everything. It’s what you do with all that data that really counts. When you enrich data from the network edge with analytics, you can take advantage of predictive machine monitoring and maintenance. We’ll explore how using “fog” computing allows for analytics closer to the machine, with less bandwidth. Check out our video of the solution from this year’s Hannover Messe:

Manufacturing Speaker Sessions

  • Digital Manufacturing ROI: 3 Ways to Realize Immediate Value NOW – Monday at 5:45 PM
  • Cisco Digital Manufacturing Solutions in Practice at Daimler Trucks – Tuesday at 2:45 PM
  • Around the World with Data and Analytics: Use Cases on the Edge! – Wednesday at 10 AM
  • The Connected Factory – Wednesday at 1:30PM
  • Connected Factory Architecture Theory and Practice – Thursday at 8:00 AM
  • The Digital Industrial Transformation and the IoT Portfolio – Thursday at 8:30 AM

If you haven’t registered already, you can do so here. See you in Las Vegas!

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Authors

Douglas Bellin

Global Lead, Industries

Manufacturing and Energy

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One of the things I really value in both my work and personal life is creativity. I always challenge myself and my team to do things differently, in a better way that will inspire others. I’m lucky at Cisco to be surrounded by innovative people and technologies that help us bring creative ideas to life each day.  Like many companies today, we know that if we do not transform ourselves – sometimes in the most disruptive ways – we will not be able to maintain customer loyalty or our competitive edge. Innovations like cloud, mobile, and video – and connecting the dots between them – provide completely new ways to conduct business, empower employees, and engage with customers.

Imagine shopping online (one activity I like very much), then going to a store and having the salesperson already know your tastes and needs. Imagine having real-time vitals on your health due to sensors in your body that automatically adapt your medication dosage or notify your doctor of critical changes. This is what digital transformation is about – changing business models, personalizing customer experiences, empowering employees, and reducing risk.

Digitization is causing huge disruption and changing the way we consume, but also improving the way companies develop, sell, and service. In order to keep up with the pace of change, organizations must leverage technology to redefine the way they do business. Digitization creates engaging customer and employee experiences, accelerates business, and drives new revenue. It inspires companies to reimagine their business so they can stay in business. All it takes is a problem that needs solving, a creative spark, and the right inspiration.

image002This week 15,000 marketing and communications experts from the world’s leading brands like Coca Cola, Facebook, and Disney will converge at Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity to share that spark of inspiration and generate new innovative ideas. Musicians, film executives, creative directors, and app developers will discuss how technology, creativity, and customer experience come together. I’m thrilled to see Cisco making our debut at Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity next week. Our team will connect with big thinkers and the organizations that drive change in the world. And we will be showing digital transformation in action. Attendees will discover growing, producing, and selling wine through the eyes of Cisco digital solutions. With our solutions growers can improve efficiencies for water usage, temperatures, grape spoilage, and more. Wine producers can improve product quality and consistency through barrel inventory tracking and temperature throughout the aging process. Wine retailers can deliver a personal experience for customers by providing remote access to expert sommeliers, optimizing consumer activity in stores, and providing tailored offers. No matter what industry you are in, Cisco is bringing digital capabilities to every aspect of the journey, delivering secure, automated interactions, and data-driven results.

It’s time to be bold and use technology to do more than we imagined possible. At Cannes Lions, you will be able to see how Cisco digital solutions make a difference in the wine industry. And it goes far beyond that into every part of our lives. From enabling remote healthcare to connected classrooms and driverless trucks in dangerous locations, digital is truly transforming our world.

The companies that succeed will be the ones who embrace creativity and reimagine ways to engage their employees, partners, and customers. I’d love to hear how you are disrupting your business with technology. And, if you’re in Cannes, stop by our booth to explore the connection between digitization, creativity, and impact.

Authors

Inbar Lasser-Raab

No Longer with Cisco

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Co-authored by Jeevan Patil, Sr. Manager, Product Management for Wireless LAN Controllers

What is common between a CIO working at a hospital planning to roll-out a caregiver mobile app, the IT Director at your child’s school about to share course content using digital interactive textbooks and the IT Administrator at your local retail store enabling employees to access inventory on iPad? All of these customers expect a wired-like reliable user experience for business apps over the WLAN, and also one that is simple and quick to rollout.

Mobility is a critical enabler to digital business. Due to the multi-function nature of mobile devices like the iPhone and iPad, students in a dorm room may be trying to access real-time entertainment (music videos on YouTube) while simultaneously accessing education applications.

If you’ve been following Cisco over the last year, you’ve probably heard about the Cisco and Apple partnership we announced a year ago, and about our most recent announcement at the WWDC. This recent update consists of three key enhancements:

  1. Optimized Wi-Fi connectivity
  2. Prioritize Applications in Cisco and Apple environments and
  3. Collaboration enhancements

In this blog, we will deep-dive into the first two network enhancements:

Optimized Wi-Fi Connectivity:

In a Wi-Fi environment, delay in roaming as a result of users moving between access points, causes a poor experience in terms of dropped calls or patchy video especially for rich-media real-time applications. This is where 802.11r, the fast-roaming standard enables roaming without complete re-authentication. 802.11k enables providing a client with neighbor lists, and 802.11v BSS Transition allows WLAN Infrastructure to nudge the client and additionally enables device power-savings.

These are great capabilities, but they’re not widely implemented. Why?

  1. Because most customers don’t turn on incremental functionality due to operational complexity.
  2. In an environment with 802.11r capable iOS devices and non-802.11r capable legacy clients, you need a separate SSID that typically increases (up to 2x) the management overhead. This is why lowering the number of SSIDs is the best practice.

Therefore, in working with Apple we have jointly developed the following and tested extensively:

  • We are turning standards on by default.
  • A mutual hand-shake allows Cisco WLAN to selectively turn 802.11r for supporting iOS devices only

In our lab tests we measured benefits to be up to 8x roaming performance and 66% more reliable Wi-Fi calling, up to 85% fewer messages with the radius server and up to 50% reduced management overhead.

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Prioritizing Business Apps in Cisco and Apple environments:

Think about the retail stores you visit these days, store clerks are not using stationary cash register type point of sale systems – new businesses are deploying iPad based mPOS platforms that provide a better and simplified customer experience. These mPOS devices need a reliable wireless network and the assurance that when a sales transaction is made, everything will work just fine. However, in these retail stores, employees on a break are possibly loading it with bandwidth-gobbling streaming apps. This can have a negative impact on the mPOS app performance which results in longer wait times for customers and loss or revenue for the retailer.

Administrators today could classify applications at the Access Points using deep-packet inspection such as Application Visibility and Control (AVC) and prioritize them upstream.

While it does allow prioritizing applications, there are problems that remain unresolved:

  1. Inability to prioritize applications appropriately between the client and the Access Point which in turn uses up the most limited resource, “the air”.
  2. Significant burden on the IT administrator to manage prioritization of applications across the enterprise.

The Cisco and Apple partnership enables:

  1. Apple devices running iOS 10 support a QOS(DSCP/UP) profile for prioritization of white-listed applications. This empowers enterprises to prioritize apps even over-the-air between the client and Cisco Access Point!
  2. The handshake between the Cisco access points and iPhone and iPad enables the Cisco network to trust the priority setting in the apps, and this is all done by implementing IEEE standards.
  3. IT has full control – the network administrators always have the ability to change the priority – so the mPOS iPad will always get priority over video streaming, you would get your purchases done quicker and be on your way to solve a different challenge at work.

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How do I learn more about this ?:

Visit the Cisco and Apple websites for more information about the innovations that are a part of this partnership. Chances are that with a simple software upgrade on your Cisco wireless infrastructure and iOS device you can enable the exciting new functionality and check off “Mobile enterprise” from your task list. Reach out to your local sales team to understand how Cisco and Apple can help you transform your business.

 

Authors

Greg Dorai

Senior Vice President & General Manager

Cisco Switching