With a focus aimed squarely on meeting customers’ growing corporate IT risk management needs for security and compliance, Cisco today announced a number of enhancements across its portfolio that evolve the company’s Self-Defending Network solution from network security offerings into a broader systems approach that strengthens the overall protection of networks as well as the increasingly diverse number of endpoints, applications, and content that utilize them.

Cisco’s security enhancements strengthen the ability of businesses to protect their IT infrastructures against malware and address security requirements like data loss prevention, corporate policy compliance, and regulatory compliance. As networks become platforms for more and more devices, applications, and information, protecting the whole system becomes imperative. Today’s announcement features endpoint protection, intrusion prevention, network- and application-based firewalls, security monitoring and analysis, centralized policy management, and other software and hardware enhancements that further that cause. These include Cisco Security Agent 6.0, Cisco Intrusion Prevention System 6.1, Cisco Security Monitoring Analysis Response System 6.0, Cisco Security Manager 3.2, incorporation of Web filtering into Cisco Integrated Services Routers, an upgrade to the Cisco Firewall Services Module for switches, and new features for Cisco’s Web application firewall and voice-aware Cisco IOS^® Firewall.

“Cisco security leads the industry because we are able to offer our customers solutions that include best-of-breed technologies that go beyond point products and work as a complete system,” said Scott Weiss, vice president and general manager of the Security Technology Group at Cisco. “In keeping with this philosophy, today we are announcing a variety of products and capabilities that enhance our systems based security, as well as new innovations that push the boundaries of security visibility and manageability. Cisco is deeply committed to security and will continue to invest heavily to continue furthering our leadership position.”

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