Cisco Stealthwatch, now called Cisco Secure Network Analytics, is a revolutionary network visibility and security analytics solution that provides advanced threat detection capabilities across your entire extended network – data center, branch offices, endpoints, and cloud environments. In this blog post, we’ll explore the features, use cases, implementation considerations, and how Stealthwatch compares to other security solutions.
Key Features
Pervasive Network Visibility
Stealthwatch collects and analyzes network telemetry data from every part of your network infrastructure, including routers, switches, firewalls, and cloud environments. This comprehensive visibility allows you to monitor all network traffic flows, including east-west and north-south communications.
Advanced Security Analytics
Stealthwatch applies advanced analytics, machine learning, and behavioral modeling techniques to establish baselines of normal network activity. It can then detect anomalous behaviors that may indicate threats like malware, zero-day attacks, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attempts, advanced persistent threats (APTs), data exfiltration, and insider threats.
Encrypted Traffic Analytics
With the rise of encrypted traffic, traditional security solutions that rely on bulk decryption and inspection can be impractical and resource-intensive. Stealthwatch’s Encrypted Traffic Analytics (ETA) technology illuminates potential threats within encrypted traffic without decryption, using enhanced telemetry generated by Cisco network devices.
Cloud Visibility
Stealthwatch Cloud extends visibility and threat detection capabilities to public cloud environments like Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud Platform (GCP), ensuring consistent security across your hybrid cloud infrastructure.
Key Use Cases
Security Incident Response and Forensics
Stealthwatch provides detailed network activity logs and visualizations, enabling rapid incident response and forensic analysis to investigate and contain threats.
Compliance and Cryptographic Assurance
With its Encrypted Traffic Analytics, Stealthwatch can ensure compliance with encryption standards and policies, detecting potential misconfigurations or vulnerabilities.
Network Behavior Monitoring
By establishing baselines of normal network behavior, Stealthwatch can detect anomalies that may indicate insider threats, policy violations, or compromised devices attempting lateral movement or data exfiltration.
Implementation Considerations
Stealthwatch can be deployed on-premises or consumed as a cloud-based (SaaS) solution. It integrates with various data sources, including NetFlow, sFlow, IPFIX, and enhanced telemetry from Cisco devices. Stealthwatch supports automatic role classification for new devices added to the network, simplifying deployment and scaling.
Comparison with Other Solutions
While traditional security tools like firewalls, intrusion prevention systems (IPS), and endpoint protection are essential, they often lack the comprehensive network visibility and advanced analytics capabilities of Stealthwatch. Network taps and packet capture solutions can provide visibility but require significant storage and manual analysis efforts.
Solutions like Cloudflare, OneLogin, and Ghostery are among the top competitors in the cloud security market but primarily focus on specific aspects like web security, identity and access management, or privacy protection. Stealthwatch’s strength lies in its holistic network visibility, advanced analytics, and threat detection capabilities across your entire extended network.
Cisco Stealthwatch (Secure Network Analytics) is a powerful solution that enhances network visibility, provides advanced security analytics, and enables comprehensive threat detection across your data center, branch offices, endpoints, and cloud environments. Its unique combination of features and capabilities makes it a valuable addition to any organization’s security arsenal.