"There is no silver bullet." That's one of our favorite sayings at Cisco Security. We use it to convey the point that malware prevention is not 100%. As new attack vectors emerge and the threat landscape evolves, some malware will get through -regardless of which security vendor you choose.
In fact, our recently released 2014 Annual Security Report found that "100 percent of business networks analyzed by Cisco have traffic going to websites that host malware." Basically, everyone will be compromised to one degree or another.
There are two factors at play. First, as modern networks have expanded and extend beyond the traditional perimeter to include endpoints, mobile devices, virtual desktops, data centers, and the cloud, new attack vectors have emerged. Attackers don't discriminate and will take advantage of any gap in protection to accomplish their mission.
Second, attackers are focused on understanding security technologies, how they work, where they are deployed, and how to exploit their weaknesses. For example, they outsmart point-in-time defenses -like sandbox technologies that only scan files once -by creating targeted, context-aware malware that can modify its behavior to evade detection and infiltrate the extended network where it is difficult to locate, let alone eradicate.
So what can you do about it? Well, at Cisco we advocate for continuous protection across theentireattack continuum -before, during, and after an attack. We believe security strategies that focus solely on perimeter-based defenses and preventive techniques will only leave attackers free to act as they please, once inside your network.
With that in mind, we are pleased to announce Cisco Cognitive Threat Analytics, a cloud-based solution that reduces the time to discovery of threats operating inside the network. It addresses gaps in perimeter-based defenses by identifying the symptoms of a malware infection or data breach using behavioral analysis and anomaly detection.
Unlike traditional monitoring and incident response systems, Cisco Cognitive Threat Analytics is not dependent on manual rule sets, but instead relies on advanced statistical modeling and machine learning to independently identify new threats, learn from what it sees, and adapt over time.
You can take advantage of Cisco Cognitive Threat Analytics with a simple add-on license to any Cisco Cloud Web Security (CWS) solution.
Here are some of the key features of Cisco Cognitive Threat Analytics that will be available to Cisco CWS customers:
The benefits for customers are clear:
So, while there is no silver bullet, Cisco keeps you protected by addressing the entire attack continuum -before, during, and after an attack. Cognitive Threat Analytics is a key part of that strategy, helping you to reduce the time to discovery of threats from weeks or months, to minutes or hours after an attack.
If you're interested in learning more about Cognitive Threat Analytics, visit Cisco.com at www.cisco.com/go/cognitive
I also encourage you to set up an evaluation of Cisco CWS with Cognitive by talking with your local Cisco sales representative, channel partner, or systems engineer.