Cisco doubling down on malware with new firewall, ThreatGrid integration

Cisco is bolstering its security portfolio with malware in the cross-hairs.

Read this

Cisco's annual security report offers grim outlook for 2014

Cisco's 2014 security forecast eerily suggests that the massive security breach at Target was just the beginning.

Read now

The networking giant has a number of new tricks up its sleeves to tackle the spread of malicious activity, including the long-promised integration of ThreatGrid.

To recall, in a rather quiet deal Cisco Live last May, the San Jose-headquartered corporation acquired ThreatGrid, a New York-based malware and threat intelligence firm.

ThreatGrid produced technology for analyzing file behavior and then turning those insights around for the purpose of pinpointing attacks and defending against advanced ones in the future.

Cisco said at the time it would incorporate ThreatGrid's malware analysis capabilities into its own intelligent cybersecurity solutions for aggregating data across networks.

More specifically, ThreatGrid was set up to be fused with Cisco's Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) suite, which itself stems from another prominent acquisition: the $2.7 billion purchase of Sourcefire in 2013.

Together, AMP ThreatGrid promises even more dynamic intelligence and analytics into malware and other cyber threats.

Among the defensive measures making up the new portfolio is AMP Endpoints, stocked with automatic indicators searching for potential compromises, retrospective security meant to seek out the origin of a threat, and extra visibility into vulnerable software and hosts.

AMP ThreatGrid can be deployed as a standalone cloud service or with on-premise appliances via Cisco's Unified Computing Service (UCS).

Also announced in anticipation of the annual RSA security expo in a few weeks, Cisco is rolling out new models of its Adaptive Security Appliance (ASA) with FirePOWER Services, boasted to be the first threat-focused next-generation firewall.

Aimed toward mid-size companies or branch offices, Cisco is promising the same kind of malware protection and detection enjoyed by enterprise organizations.

With nearly half a dozen new desktop and rugged options available now, pricing starts at $995 per model.