Cisco Secure Connect - Solution Overview

Client-based Access 

Clientless ZTNA Access (Browser Access)

Clientless Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) allows you to leverage a web browser for remote access to private web-based applications without requiring users to install Secure Client on their devices or creating special inbound rules on your on-premises firewall. Clientless access addresses situations where it might not be feasible or desirable to install Secure Client on a remote user’s device.

To access an application, the user connects to the Secure Connect ZTNA reverse proxy using a unique URL that is created by Secure Connect for each application.  Both the user and device are verified and validated by a Browser Access Policy (BAP) on a per-session basis before access is permitted to an application.

Controlling Network Access to Private Applications

Traditionally, users with access to the network can reach any application or resource connected to the network, making those applications vulnerable to attacks.  With Secure Connect, administrators can take security a step further by preventing users from reaching the application by restricting network access.  Access can be controlled in two complimentary ways:  

1. Create network or browser access policies to control access based on user's identity or associate group. Identity-based policies require SAML authentication through your Identity Provider (IdP). If you don't have an IdP, you can use Meraki Cloud Auth as your IdP.
2. Set up endpoint posture profiles to grant or deny access to applications based on device-specific criteria such as: 
   • Client-based
     • Operating Systems (OS) type and version
     • OS firewall status
     • Antivirus-malware software status
     • Disk encryption status
   • Client-less
     • Operating Systems (OS) type
     • Browser type and version
     • Location information based on IP address 

DNS Security

DNS-layer security blocks name resolution requests to malicious domains before a connection is even established — stopping threats over any port or protocol before they reach your network or endpoints. In addition, internet usage policies can be enforced using Cisco Umbrella’s 85+ category-based content filters to create custom allow/block lists of websites with unwanted content.

Cloud Firewall

The Cloud Firewall  a layer 3, 4 and 7 firewall to protect traffic across all ports and protocols without performance degradation. All traffic coming into Secure Connect from sites and client-based VPN comes in through Cloud Firewall where layer 3 and 4 access policies can be applied.  Depending on the destination, Cloud Firewall will then route the traffic to:  

• Private Application traffic or traffic going between sites will be sent to the Secure Connect interconnect fabric. (See Site Interconnect for more information.)
• Internet-bound web traffic (tcp port 80/443) is routed to the Secure Web Gateway for further inspection. 
• Non-web internet-bound traffic will stay in Cloud Firewall where it goes through the layer 7 application visibility and control and Intrusion Prevention Systems processes.

The Intrusion Prevention System (IPS), based on SNORT 3  technology, uses signature-based detection to examine network traffic flows and take automated actions to catch and drop dangerous packets before they reach their target.  An IPS capability is only as effective as the cyber attack dictionaries. Secure Connect IPS uses an extensive database of signatures (40,000+ and growing) from the Cisco Talos Intelligence Group.

Secure Web Gateway

The Secure Web Gateway (SWG) specifically protects web traffic over ports 80/443. SWG proxy all of your web traffic for greater visibility and control. It enables you to log all activity, inspects web traffic to protect against viruses and malware, and enforce acceptable internet use policies. Files are scanned and known bad items blocked. New or suspicious files can be routed to a sandbox for deeper inspection and retrospective alerts can be generated if a file starts to display bad behavior. SWG can utilize the Microsoft API to route the appropriate Mircosoft 365 traffic directly to the nearest Microsoft data center to maximize performance.

Cloud Access Security Broker

The typical organization is only aware of a small fraction of its overall cloud activity. Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) provides the ability to detect and report on cloud applications in use across your organization. For discovered apps, view details on the risk level and block or control usage to better manage cloud adoption and reduce risk.

Data Loss Prevention

Data Loss Prevention (DLP) is part of CASB.  The DLP function scans in all outbound web traffic and blocks sensitive data in it from leaving your organization or being exposed to malicious attackers in the cloud. Secure Connect support two type of rules - Real Time and SaaS API-based.  Real Time DLP rules inspect the web traffic that traverses the proxy and extend support for all cloud applications. SaaS API-based rules scan data at rest in the cloud using APIs for Microsoft 365 and other select SaaS applications.