Feature Story

May 20, 2003

Now, more than ever, network managers understand the importance of network security. But network operators have enough challenges running their networks without dealing with yet another layer of operational complexity. And that's where Cisco Systems hopes to help. Cisco recently announced enhancements to its portfolio of security products that help make advanced security features more effective and easier to manage. This collection of products and technologies is the latest milestone in Cisco's efforts to provide seamlessly integrated and robust security for any connection on a wired or wireless network whether it's a link to a data center, a company headquarters, a branch office, or a mobile worker.

Rob Redford, Cisco's vice president of product and technology marketing, recently spoke with News@Cisco about the growing importance of network security and how Cisco is making it easier to protect against threats to business applications and services on IP networks.

Given the overwhelming number of tasks network operators already face, why should they spend time, money and resources on building better network security?

Rob Redford: Until recently, networks were viewed as tools rather than strategic assets, sort of how a retailer might view its cash registers: they are important for business but just as a means to an end, a convenience. But thanks to the growth of collaborative applications, IP networks, and the Internet, now companies use networks for just about every part of their businesses, from crucial email communications and ecommerce, to supply chain management and marketing, to finance and customer service. Now an effective network is not just an appendage to business operations but it is becoming the heart of successful businesses.

And this is how security is rapidly increasing in importance. The more valuable a network becomes, the more important it is to protect it, whether the threat is hackers, worms, viruses, corporate thieves, malicious employees, or misconfigurations. The network is so crucial that companies can't afford to have it fail. The network has become the business, and if the network goes down, the business goes down.

How has the growing importance of networks and security changed customer requirements for security products?

Rob Redford: Previously, network security was viewed as a "bolt-on" or add-on feature. The focus was all about building the network. Security was an after thought, something you only worried about for your Internet connection. But, of course, the importance of network security has become increasingly obvious with the frequent appearance of new network attacks and breaches by outsiders and insiders alike. Network managers are realizing that bolt-on security products are not the answer to this increased threat. Such solutions have a number of serious drawbacks: security event information is not commonly represented and thus cannot be correlated; management consoles are separate, resulting in fragmented security policy implementations; and there is no end-to-end transactional view from the desktop to the network, service, and WAN access point.

With this in mind, network managers have realized they need comprehensive and integrated security solutions. They realize security must be an intrinsic part of the network as much as cables, routers, switches, databases and servers. Cisco's approach delivers an integrated portfolio of technologies that addresses our customers' concerns while lowering operational as well as capital costs.

How does Cisco's recently announced portfolio of new security products help improve network security?

Rob Redford: This group of recently announced products is another milestone in Cisco's goal to make security more affordable and easier to manage. Cisco has a unique advantage in delivering integrated network security solutions because we make the equipment that runs the majority of corporate networks around the world, and, as a result, we have more networking expertise that any other vendor. Many of our new security products are modular elements-software, add-in hardware cards, and stand-alone devices-which integrate with existing Cisco network infrastructure. Our recent release of new security products includes a number of new technologies and capabilities, but they essentially fall into two categories: integrated security management tools and more advanced threat protection. New security management tools include a new security device manager that supports all of our access routers and a set of provisioning tools for services-oriented applications. These new tools offer a number of industry firsts, including AutoSecure, which provides a one-step lockdown option for network mangers who want to quickly establish router-based security on their networks. As part of the new security products, we are also offering one-step configuration for firewalls and VPNs. New threat protection capabilities include a common software base for all of our IDS (intrusion detection system) products. With its new VPN blades, the Cisco 6500 offers the industry's highest performance IP-based VPN gateway, which scales in a modular way to deliver more than three times the performance of any other product.

How has Cisco evolved its security offerings to address customers increased priority on network security?

Rob Redford: Cisco's security business originally grew through a series of acquisitions that included an array of independent products with separate management systems. Since Cisco is driven by its customers' needs, we quickly realized that our customers wanted more comprehensive and integrated security. This recent release of new security products is another milestone in our efforts to provide our customers with a comprehensive and fully integrated networking security portfolio, rather than one-off bolt-on products. Our integrated security approach is unique in the industry and is an integral part of our strategy for helping to make our customers' businesses (service providers, enterprises, and small/medium business alike) faster, smarter, and longer lasting through an intelligent network infrastructure. Our integrated security technologies enable customers to protect the productivity and business benefits of their networks while building on their current investments in Cisco networking equipment though cost-effective incremental upgrades.