Cisco adds endpoint protection with SaaS service

Network equipment makers have increasingly added network protection to their offerings as the number of attacks on enterprises increases. Among those vendors is Cisco Systems, which since getting into the server business with its UCS servers has been adding to its security products.

Now it’s getting into PCs. At its partner conference this week the company announced AMP (advanced malware protection) for Endpoints, a software as a service, which it says combines prevention, detection and response to simplify endpoint security by analyzing traffic and files.

It integrates with the existing AMP for Networks service.

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It will cover Windows as far back as WinXP with Service Pack 3, WinSever 2003 and up,  Mac OS,  Red Hat and CentOS Linux, and Android mobile devices.

Data is collected and displayed in a dashboard (image above).

Cisco said AMP for Endpoints offers

• Next-generation prevention that combines “proven and advanced protection capabilities to stop more threats – both known and emerging malware”  by leveraging  its Talos global threat intelligence service. It also offers built-in sandboxing to quarantine and analyze unknown files;
• Greater visibility and faster detection through continuous monitoring and shared analytics to detect stealth attacks. AMP for Endpoints records all file activity to monitor and detect malicious behavior,;
• More effective response based on deep visibility and a detailed recorded history of malware’s behavior over time – where it came from, where it has been, and what it has been doing.

At the same time Cisco announced three new security suites:

• Threat Defense for Data Center
• Threat Defense for WAN and Edge
• Policy and Threat Defense for Access

The software suites are customized with key security products and services for each domain, Cisco said. For example, in the data center, the offer includes advanced malware protection, next-generation intrusion prevention, URL filtering and virtualized firewall and services.