Identity Services Engine Cisco
One of Cisco’s next-generation security platforms, the Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE), serves as a complete Network Access Control (NAC) solution. It is mostly used as a single, centralized policy plane to offer Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) services throughout the whole company.
Cisco ISE, which provides policy-based secure network access by tightly regulating who and what connects to the network, is regarded as the cornerstone of zero trust architecture.
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Core Functions and Policy Enforcement
Centralized AAA Services
For AAA functions, ISE offers a scalable, standardized, and adaptable solution. For these services, it uses the common RADIUS protocol.
- Authentication and Authorization: Network devices (such as switches and routers) ask ISE, a centralized authentication server, to check login credentials with a user database whenever a user tries to log in. For increased security, ISE allows multifactor user credentials.
- Device Administration (TACACS+): In order to manage administrator access to network devices, ISE also supports the TACACS+ protocol. This protocol enables fine-grained control over who has access to particular devices and commands while keeping track of modifications.
Contextual Identity and Access Control
ISE is recognized as an Identity-Based Networking offering. By establishing a thorough contextual identity for each connecting endpoint, it goes beyond basic login checks.
- Context Awareness: By verifying the user’s identity, method of network access, and computer health, ISE applies “context awareness.”
- Policy Attributes: The foundation of access policies is an attribute-driven, rule-based paradigm. These characteristics include location, time, threat level, vulnerability, device kind, device posture (compliance), and user/group identity (employee, guest, or contractor).
- Enforcement: ISE applies strict controls over who, what, when, where, and how endpoints are permitted to access the network based on this contextual identification. Virtual LAN (VLAN) assignments, URL redirections, and downloadable Access Control Lists (dACLs) are examples of policy enforcement techniques.
Compliance and Device Posture
Interrogating connecting devices (particularly in the Borderless end zone) to ensure they satisfy minimal security requirements a process known as posture assessment, is a crucial part of ISE.
- Checks: Before allowing network access, posture checks make sure that devices have installed antimalware packages, service packs, OS patches, current definition files, virus scanning tools, and the proper registry settings.
- Remediation: ISE may carry out recurring evaluations and provide automatic remediation for PC customers.
- Agents: The Cisco Secure Client (previously AnyConnect agent), complete or temporary agents, as well as agentless solutions, can be used to do posture assessment.
Software-Defined Segmentation (TrustSec)
Implementing TrustSec, a distributed access policy enforcement system, requires the use of ISE.
- Security Group Tags (SGTs): SGTs serve as the foundation for TrustSec policies. The segmentation controller is ISE.
- Role-Based Access: This method lowers operational complexity by enabling organizations to implement access control based on user business roles and groups (least privilege access) as opposed to intricate IP addresses or network hierarchies.
- DNA Center Integration: Integration with Cisco DNA Center and SDA
- One product that interfaces with Cisco DNA Centre is called ISE.
- Group-based access control is made possible via this integration, which makes it possible to create rules based on user groups using data that is populated by ISE. For example, the DNA Centre advises the fabric nodes to create the VXLAN tunnel if security regulations permit communication between two Scalable Group Tags (SGTs); if not, packets do not flow.
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Key Capabilities and Integrations
- Device Profiling: When endpoints (such as printers, IP phones, and cameras) join the network, ISE may automatically identify, categorize, and associate identities using established device templates.
- Guest and BYOD Management: ISE makes it easier to create Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) policies and network access for visitors. End customers can manage their devices using self-service portals, and it provides a variety of access pathways (sponsored, hotspot, and self-service).
- Threat Containment (pxGrid): Cisco pxGrid (Platform Exchange Grid) technology, a reliable platform for real-time sharing of rich contextual data (user, device, application workload context), is utilized by ISE to interface with other security systems. This supports Rapid Threat Containment (RTC), which enables ISE to automatically take action depending on threat ratings or detection events, such as shutting down the associated port or assigning an Adaptive Network Control (ANC) policy to isolate an infected endpoint.
- Deployment: ISE can be purchased as a virtual or physical appliance. The Cisco Secure Network Server (SNS) is the hardware platform on which it operates. It can be set up on-site or on cloud computing platforms such as Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Summary of Benefits
Cisco ISE implementation has the following benefits:
- Enhanced Security and Reduced Risk: It makes security stronger by limiting malware’s ability to move laterally, drastically lowering the attack surface, and imposing precise, policy-driven permissions.
- Centralized Management: Using a single web-based GUI panel, administrators can centrally configure and manage guest services, authentication, authorization, posture, and profiling, making administration easier.
- Improved Visibility: By tracking every user and endpoint connecting to the network, it provides comprehensive visibility through historical and real-time data.
- Operational Efficiency: ISE can cut IT operations by 80% by lowering the amount of time needed to manage and maintain access control policies.
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