BrightCloud Content Filtering Deprecation FAQ
BrightCloud Content Filtering Deprecation
Frequently Asked Questions
What is happening?
With the release of MX17, Cisco Meraki began migrating threat and content filtering classifications from BrightCloud, our third-party content filtering intelligence provider, to Cisco Talos Intelligence Group (Talos), Cisco’s in-house security and threat intelligence team.
To standardize our content filtering offering across all MX appliances and respond to known and emerging threats more efficiently, we are completing the migration with the deprecation of BrightCloud’s services in favor of Cisco Talos, effective December 31, 2024. After this date, Talos will curate all content filtering and threat intelligence classifications on all MX appliances running MX17 or newer firmware versions.
Where can I find more information about Talos?
Talos is one of the largest commercial threat intelligence teams in the world, comprised of world-class researchers, analysts, and engineers. Click here for more information.
Which Meraki devices will be affected?
Upon the deprecation of BrightCloud content filtering services, all MX devices running firmware MX16 and earlier versions will no longer filter URLs based on content and threat filtering parameters.
Is there an action I need to take before the deprecation occurs?
The action you must take depends on whether your device is eligible for MX17 or a newer firmware version. Read below for recommended courses of action.
Devices eligible for MX17 or newer:
If devices are eligible, please upgrade to MX17 or a newer version to gain access to Cisco Talos content filtering. More details can be found in our Product Firmware Version Restrictions documentation and End-of-Life (EOL) Product documentation.
After upgrading the MX to firmware MX17 or a newer version, the Meraki dashboard will automatically migrate the old categories to the newly suggested Talos categories (see note below for more details). As part of this process, you can confirm the migration and optionally accept, remove, or enter new categories. To ensure a smooth transition, we recommend you execute a comprehensive testing strategy to verify that both critical and non-critical services are functioning correctly with the new Talos content filtering settings.
Note: Prior to MX17, BrightCloud was leveraged as our category intelligence source. With the introduction of Talos, previously supported BrightCloud categories may, in some cases, have a direct mapping to Talos categories. The Meraki dashboard has made this migration as simple as possible by suggesting closely matched categories. For more details, refer to our Content Filtering Powered By Cisco Talos documentation.
Devices ineligible for MX17 or newer:
Devices ineligible to run version MX17 or newer lack the necessary capabilities to support the Talos integration due to aging hardware. If you have ineligible devices and are interested in continuing to use the content filtering functionality after the BrightCloud deprecation is complete, please reach out to your account manager for assistance with a hardware refresh.
If no action is taken prior to the deprecation, what will I experience?
If action is not taken prior to the deprecation date, all MX devices running MX16 or earlier versions will lose access to the content filtering functionality. This means there will be no enforcement in place and traffic previously blocked by BrightCloud configuration settings will now be allowed.
What if I am using pinned firmware due to an outstanding or unresolved issue?
Please contact Meraki Technical Support for assistance. Our Support team will help you verify if the pin is still required, and if so, what the appropriate next steps will be.
Who can I reach out to if I have more questions about this deprecation?
Please contact Meraki Technical Support if you have questions about this deprecation or contact your Meraki account manager if you are interested in refreshing your device(s).