Current trends in cybersecurity: Cisco's view

The digital age has rapidly penetrated the operations of all businesses, institutions, start-ups and even the lives of ordinary citizens. That's why cybersecurity has become a technical necessity and a strategic priority for every company, the foundation without which it is impossible to do business efficiently. 

Every year, the amount of data that needs to be processed increases, corporate infrastructures become more complex, and cyber threats evolve at an extraordinary pace. In this context, cybersecurity leaders like Cisco become even more important. The company provides innovative solutions to protect corporate networks, data, and digital assets, helping businesses meet the challenges of the 21st century.

Top trends in cybersecurity 2025

• Protect against attacks on cloud services

The development of cloud services has become an essential part of modern business, offering flexibility, scalability and accessibility. However, this transition has attracted the attention of cybercriminals, who have begun to exploit the vulnerabilities of cloud platforms actively. Cyber threats in 2024 were more sophisticated, and this trend continues in 2025. Attacks on cloud services often include account compromise, data theft, and DDoS attacks.

Cisco offers a solution to help mitigate the risks described above - Cisco Umbrella. It is a cloud-based security platform that provides proactive protection against cyber threats by analysing traffic patterns and blocking suspicious activity before it reaches the network. Umbrella provides multiple layers of protection, including the DNS layer of security, which is fundamental to every Internet request. By blocking malicious domains, IP addresses and cloud applications at the DNS layer, it stops advanced online threats before they even connect, ensuring a fast, secure and reliable Internet experience for more than 30,000 organisations worldwide.

In addition, Cisco Umbrella offers advanced capabilities through the Secure Internet Gateway (Umbrella SIG). This integrated platform includes DNS protection, secure web gateway (SWG), cloud application security broker (CASB), data leakage prevention (DLP), malware protection, cloud firewall, and browser isolation. All of these components work within a single solution with unified management, greatly simplifying operations for information security teams.

The evolution of Umbrella is Cisco Secure Access, which adds new elements such as Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and Experience Insights to the capabilities of Umbrella SIG. This enables you to securely connect users from any device to any application, simplifying operations for information teams and reducing risk while ensuring business continuity.

A key benefit of Cisco Umbrella is its integration with other Cisco Secure tools and more than 400 third-party integrations. This allows organisations to extend their existing security infrastructure and maximise their existing cyber defence investments. The Cisco Talos team, one of the largest commercial threat intelligence teams in the world, also plays an important role. Their experience and analytics enable them to respond quickly to known and emerging cyber threats and stay one step ahead of attackers.

• Developing a Zero Trust Architecture

Zero Trust - 'trust no one, always verify' - has become one of the key strategies in cyber security. In a world where the network perimeter is blurring, the Zero Trust approach ensures that only authorised users and devices have access to corporate resources.

Cisco delivers Zero Trust through the Cisco Secure Access solution, which provides the most advanced level of security for the hybrid workforce. Built on the Security Service Edge (SSE) architecture, this cloud-based solution enables seamless and secure access to resources from any device, in any location.

Cisco Secure Access has three key capabilities:

1. A better user experience. Universal access allows users to connect securely and seamlessly to any application, regardless of port or protocol. This creates a convenient working environment without delays and complex authentication procedures.
2. Simplicity for IT departments. Deployment and management are simplified with a single console, unified client and centralised management policy. This helps to quickly scale the solution, adapt security policies and reduce administrative overhead.
3. Enhanced security. Cisco Secure Access provides advanced protection against today's cyber threats. Its zero-trust architecture implements the principle of least privilege, allowing you to grant access only to users who meet specified conditions. VPN-as-a-Service (VPNaaS) supports applications that are not yet ZTNA-compliant, and Secure Web Gateway inspects web traffic, including encrypted files, to prevent malicious data from being downloaded.

In addition, Cisco Secure Access uses Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB) technologies to detect and control SaaS applications, including those based on generative AI, and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) to protect against data leakage. Firewall as a Service (FWaaS) integrates with multi-layered security solutions, monitoring traffic at layers 3-7 and blocking dangerous packets.

This innovative solution not only reduces risk but also ensures business resilience to disruptions and cyber-attacks by providing tools for monitoring, performance analysis and rapid problem resolution.

• Security of IoT devices

The Internet of Things (IoT) has opened up new opportunities for innovation, but it has also created significant threats. Insecure IoT devices can become network vulnerabilities, significantly increasing an organisation's attack surface. The manufacturing sector is particularly vulnerable, accounting for 32% of cyber attacks. Most IoT devices have low levels of security, do not use encryption and are often not updated, making them easy targets for attackers. Such devices can be subject to sophisticated attacks such as DDoS or become part of botnets. They can shut down a business, cause physical damage or even become a tool for blackmail.

Despite these challenges, IoT offers significant benefits: increased efficiency, intelligent data collection from devices, improved operations and customer satisfaction. However, as the number of connected devices grows, data protection becomes more challenging and the need for comprehensive solutions becomes more important.

Cisco offers IoT Threat Defence, a layered solution that provides visibility, monitoring, and protection for IoT devices. This solution includes several key components:

1. Visibility and analysis. The Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) gives organisations greater visibility into network connections by identifying users and devices, including IoT. The system provides contextual information, such as device role, connection time, and location, to help create role-based access policies. Cisco Stealthwatch turns the network into a sensor that analyses traffic and detects anomalies and suspicious activity. For industrial network management, the Cisco Industrial Network Director (IND) gives operations teams complete visibility into network devices in the context of automation.
2. Threat protection. Cisco Umbrella blocks malicious connections early by using DNS to detect and prevent attempts to connect to command and control servers. Cisco Next-Generation Firewall provides deep traffic inspection, including industrial protocols such as SCADA.
3. Secure remote access. IoT Threat Defence provides secure communications for remote support. Segmentation and analysis help control unauthorised access to critical systems without the risk of compromise.

Cisco IoT Threat Defence helps organisations effectively protect IoT devices and networks, reducing risk and ensuring business continuity in even the most challenging environments.

• Artificial intelligence in cybersecurity

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become an indispensable tool in the fight against cyber threats. AI can process large amounts of data, analyse traffic, and detect anomalies that are difficult to detect manually.

Cisco Secure Network Analytics uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide behavioural analysis of traffic. This approach allows you to quickly identify threats, even if they are not yet in known attack databases. It provides a proactive approach to threat detection using powerful analytics and behavioural modelling tools.

The system analyses existing network data to identify threats that have evaded traditional defences and stop them before they cause serious damage. Highly accurate alerts are enriched with contextual information, including user, device, location, timestamps and additional information. This enables you to respond to attacks in real-time, reducing the risk of a breach.

Cisco Secure Network Analytics helps uncover unknown threats by using advanced algorithms to quickly detect malware, data breaches, policy violations, and other sophisticated attacks. The system can even detect threats in encrypted traffic without compromising confidentiality or data integrity.

By integrating with other Cisco solutions such as Identity Services Engine (ISE) and SecureX, the platform provides intelligent network segmentation, customised alerts to detect unauthorised access, and simplifies security compliance. Integration with Splunk enables you to turn your network into a sensor for better data management and deeper threat detection.

The platform also supports automated response with the latest capabilities, including firewall log processing, automated response actions, and integration with Cisco XDR to detect and remediate the most complex threats across all attack vectors.

Cisco Secure Network Analytics is an integral part of the modern approach to network security, providing not only threat detection, but also proactive security policy management, enabling organisations to protect themselves against the increasingly sophisticated challenges of cybercrime.

• Multi-factor authentication

Network user accounts are a prime target for phishing attacks, making multi-factor authentication (MFA) an important standard for protection. Cisco offers the Cisco Duo solution, which provides the convenience and reliability of MFA to help organisations secure access to their resources. MFA is an access control solution that verifies a user's identity at login using two or more authentication factors. This provides an additional layer of data protection to help prevent malware, phishing, and ransomware attacks. Cisco Duo simplifies the integration and deployment of MFA, enabling organisations to quickly deploy this technology with minimal IT resource requirements.

Duo combines multiple authentication methods, such as biometrics, tokens, passwords, the Duo Push mobile application, and others, to provide flexible and reliable protection. With Duo, users can authenticate quickly and conveniently through the mobile app, which not only reduces overall maintenance costs but also simplifies user adoption of MFA.

In addition, Cisco Duo provides device visibility, allowing you to identify risky devices and enforce access policies based on context. This helps you identify and effectively manage the risks associated with devices connecting to corporate resources. Duo adheres to the principle of zero trust by constantly scanning endpoints, providing an adaptive approach to security.

With its flexible capabilities, Cisco Duo provides a VPN-free remote access security solution that enables employees to securely connect to corporate applications and resources from anywhere in the world. All of this makes Cisco Duo a powerful tool for protecting businesses in today's digital environment.

Innovative Cisco solutions in cybersecurity

Overview of key Cisco Secure products

Cisco offers a broad range of cybersecurity solutions that enable organisations to effectively protect their data and networks from today's threats. Key Cisco security solutions:

• Cisco Umbrella is a powerful cloud-based platform that uses DNS-level security technologies to prevent access to malicious sites and resources. This means that Cisco Umbrella blocks malicious domains, IP addresses, and cloud applications before a connection is even made, providing fast, reliable Internet access to more than 30,000 organisations. In addition, Umbrella includes Secure Internet Gateway (SIG), which combines DNS-level protection with a secure web gateway, data loss prevention (DLP), malware protection, and cloud firewall. The result is a comprehensive and easy-to-deploy security management system. 
• Cisco Secure Endpoint is an endpoint security solution that detects, responds to, and recovers from attacks in the cloud. With powerful threat detection and response (EDR) capabilities, Cisco Secure Endpoint helps you detect threats faster and reduce recovery time by up to 85%. The solution provides deep control over USB device usage and integrated Extended Threat Detection (XDR) capabilities for a comprehensive view of security events. Through integration with Talos Threat Hunting, Cisco provides a proactive approach to protecting your business by preventing attacks that could cause damage.
• Cisco Secure Firewall is a feature-rich firewall that protects enterprise networks from encrypted threats and zero-day attacks. Cisco Secure Firewall supports the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning to streamline security policy management, simplify workflows, and detect configuration errors. The solution provides superior visibility into encrypted traffic and supports scalability with clustering capabilities that improve performance in hybrid networks. By integrating with Zero Trust, Cisco Secure Firewall helps implement a robust security posture by automating access and responding to emerging threats.

As a result, Cisco offers a complete range of solutions to help organisations protect themselves from the growing number of cyber threats.

How Cisco helps businesses be resilient to cyber threats

Cisco offers a wide range of tools and technologies that provide a comprehensive approach to building a resilient cyber defence.

The Cisco Security Operations Centre (SOC) is not just an incident response tool. It is an intelligent platform that integrates multiple technologies, including vulnerability management, cyber threat analysis, digital investigation, and data processing. The main function of the SOC is to collect, analyse and correlate data from multiple sources, such as event logs, network packets and NetFlow, to identify potential threats.

The system uses a layered approach:

• Data collection. SOC automates the collection of logs from network devices, operating systems, applications and physical security elements such as cameras or access systems.
• Analysis. Using machine learning algorithms and correlation rules, the SOC transforms raw data into structured information that can detect anomalies and prevent threats.
• Respond. In the event of an incident, the SOC provides rapid response to minimise business downtime.

Special attention is paid to time synchronisation, which is critical for accurate event analysis. The use of Network Time Protocol (NTP) eliminates confusion when assessing incidents and generating reports.

The Cisco SOC is not just a set of technologies, but an entire architecture that adapts to your business needs, providing flexibility, efficiency, and security. It provides organisations with not only security but also the tools to improve operations and gain confidence in the future.

Practical advice for businesses on how to strengthen cyber defences

1. Get layered protection by integrating Cisco Secure solutions. Layered security is a key element in the fight against cyber threats. Integrating Cisco Secure solutions provides multiple layers of security, including network security, malware protection, threat detection, and cloud security. This allows you to create a comprehensive approach that covers multiple attack vectors. For example, using firewalls, data loss prevention (DLP), and secure access to corporate resources can help reduce vulnerabilities and protect critical information.
2. Update software regularly and implement cybersecurity automation. Regular software updates are an important part of cybersecurity, as new versions of software may contain patches for vulnerabilities that attackers are exploiting. Introducing automation into cyber defence also plays an important role in improving efficiency. For example, automated update systems can reduce the risk of human error, speed up the update process and ensure a timely response to new threats. Using solutions that automate incident monitoring, detection and response allows IT teams to focus on more complex tasks, leaving routine processes to automated systems.
3. Use traffic behavioural analysis to detect anomalies. Behavioural traffic analysis can detect anomalies in network traffic that may indicate a cyber attack. This approach uses machine learning algorithms to detect deviations from normal patterns of behaviour. For example, if there is usually no data exchange between certain systems at a certain time of day, and suddenly there is activity that exceeds the usual level, this may indicate a potential threat. Early detection of such anomalies allows you to respond quickly to possible attacks, reducing the likelihood of serious incidents.

The importance of staff training for risk mitigation

Cyber security starts with awareness. Training employees in basic security principles, such as recognising a phishing attack, significantly reduces the risk of a network compromise. Creating a culture of security within an organisation is crucial, as even the most advanced technologies cannot fully protect an organisation without proper employee awareness. Regular cybersecurity training, seminars and courses can help employees identify and respond to potential threats.

Cybersecurity training on how to use email safely, manage passwords and protect personal information will help reduce the likelihood of successful phishing attacks. In addition, employees should be trained in the basics of incident response, including how to report suspicious activity and take action when threats are detected.

Ongoing training and awareness help to build employee ownership of data security, which is a critical factor in maintaining the integrity and confidentiality of information within an organisation.

Conclusion

In a world where cyber threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated, partnering with leading companies like Cisco is key to business security and stability. Cisco Secure solutions not only help you respond to threats but also proactively prevent them, providing layered protection and cyber resilience for your business. By integrating advanced technologies such as machine learning and cyber threat analysis, Cisco creates intelligent security systems that detect and remediate threats in real-time.

In addition, Cisco offers a wide range of solutions tailored to the needs of specific organisations, enabling them to not only keep their data secure but also to optimise their operations. This is important in an ever-changing technology environment and increasingly competitive marketplace.

Don't wait until a cyber threat becomes a reality - protect your business today! By investing in security now, you are laying the foundation for the stable and successful development of your business in the future.

Contact Integrity Vision for advice and implementation of the best solutions for your business.