Cisco's vision of Intelligent Networking includes a focus on Secure Infrastructure through the "Self-Defending Network".
The Cisco Self-Defending Network strategy describes the Cisco vision for security systems. In the past, threats from both internal and external sources were relatively slow moving and easy to defend against. In today’s environment, where Internet worms spread across the world in a matter of minutes, security systems--and the network itself--must react instantly.
The foundation for a self-defending network is integrated security--security that is native to all aspects of an organization. Every device in the network, from desktops through the LAN and across the WAN, plays a part in securing the networked environment through a globally distributed defense.
The continued evolution of our vision involves the incorporation of capabilities from other security vendors. In the Cisco Network Admission Control (NAC) program, for example, Cisco is working with antivirus vendors to help ensure that infected devices are not allowed entry into the network. These self-defending networks will identify threats, react appropriately to the severity level, isolate infected servers and desktops, and reconfigure the network resources in response to an attack.
The Cisco strategy of the Self-Defending Network brings together Secure Connectivity, Threat Defense, and Trust and Identity Management with the capability of infection containment and rogue device isolation in a single solution.