NETWORKING

COVID-19 has changed the way we collaborate and communicate. It has also revealed the limitations of some of the digital collaboration tools people have had to use, including in sectors like education and healthcare. COVID-19 created a `rush’ to simply get functions online (classes, health consultations, staff meetings). But people in these sectors are now asking the question – how do we use these digital tools to make these interactions more immersive and engaging, and…

How do you know for sure that a router in your network has not been altered since you deployed it? Wouldn’t it be great if you could cryptographically challenge your router to provide its unique identity? In addition, what if the underlying OS could provide a secure mechanism to detect if the software had been tampered with during boot time and runtime? Networking equipment manufacturers are seeing an increase in supply chain attacks, which means…

2020 put network infrastructures to the test. Work from home and streaming video pushed network traffic loads into the stratosphere. More and more endpoints connected to the network, as enterprises pushed hard to digitize their service offerings, and the rate of cyber-security threats, which continue to present a significant business risk, skyrocketed. While communication service providers juggle these short-term challenges, they are also engaged in a long-term network transformation to speed up service delivery through…

Introducing Vanilla ISE – a simplified ISE GUI for endpoint technicians Some people prefer to begin with the end result, and reverse engineer their way backward. If that is the case, let me make your life easy – here’s a link to the Vanilla ISE GitHub repo. However, if you are interested in the approach we took, our thought process, and tools that led us to the end result – keep on reading! In this…

VMware has unveiled an integrated package of cloud security, access control and networking software aimed at addressing the key needs of today’s COVID-19-driven remote workforce. VMware Anywhere Workspace brings together the company’s core enterprise software products, including its Workspace ONE unified endpoint management offering, Carbon Black Cloud cloud-native endpoint security platform, and secure access service edge (SASE) components, into a single deployable system to support the widely distributed workforce. “Enterprises are moving from simply supporting…

VMware has unveiled an integrated package of cloud security, access control and networking software aimed at addressing the key needs of today’s COVID-19-driven remote workforce. VMware Anywhere Workspace brings together the company’s core enterprise software products, including its Workspace ONE unified endpoint management, Carbon Black Cloud cloud-native endpoint security, and secure access service edge (SASE) components, into a single system to support a widely distributed workforce. “Enterprises are moving from simply supporting remote work to…

A common theme cropped up at the last Cisco Live!, held virtually from March 31 to April 1, 2021. I’d sum it up like this: IT improves operations only if operational teams will use the solutions. Ease-of-use and reliability rule! If you were one of the more than 100,000 people who attended, you probably heard some version of that message. Here’s my take on how it showed through in sessions on multi-access wireless technologies, cybersecurity,…

Guidelines for a Safe, Secure, and Compliant Collaboration Ecosystem The National Security Agency (NSA) published a set of guidelines for “Selecting and Safely Using Collaboration Services for Telework.” The guidelines that evaluated 17 collaboration service providers identified a dozen critical criteria for cybersecurity functionality and security assurance to help government employees and organizations make informed decisions when selecting a collaboration service for their needs. The goal is to help users “draw down their risk exposure”…

Part of a Powering People First series that focuses on increasing and promoting personal well-being and building better quality connections and a more inclusive work experience for all Ensuring Safe, Secure, and Compliant Collaboration In late 2020, the National Security Agency (NSA) published its guidelines for “Selecting and Safely Using Collaboration Services for Telework.” They outlined 12 criteria to gauge the security stance of 17 collaboration service providers, including Cisco Webex. These guidelines highlight essential…

As the Proximity Initiative was taking shape at Cisco last year, the realities of the inequality and injustice plaguing our communities began sparking worldwide outrage. The horrific events of 2020 became a sobering wake-up call: they brought me to the realization that I had drastically misunderstood the pervasive, systemic nature of racism and other forms of discrimination, and underestimated their effects on my neighbors, friends, and coworkers. I found myself in moments of vulnerability that I never expected, including crying in front of a few hundred employees in an All Hands call. Most of my tears were for the atrocities unfolding all around us, but many were for the realization that I had been blind to so much.  …