Cisco pushes DNS defense
Cisco Secure Access got spotlighted for DNS‑layer protection at Black Hat Europe — a reminder DNS filtering is back in play as a first‑line network control. The same briefings tie this to broader national cyber posture shifts that mix offensive operations, defense of federal networks and critical‑infrastructure priorities (x.com) (x.com).
Cisco said its Secure Access deployment in London observed roughly 66 million DNS queries and identified about 6,000 unique applications during the Black Hat Europe run. (clients.virtualtechfrontier.com) The company moved away from an Umbrella-only setup, positioning Cisco Secure Access as a full Security Service Edge (SSE) platform and phasing in a new “DNS Defense” offering to supersede Umbrella Essentials and Advantage. (undercodenews.com) Cisco described new DNS Defense capabilities that include AI-enhanced DNS tunneling mitigation and stronger cloud malware detection, backed by an infrastructure Cisco says spans more than 50 global DNS data centers and cloud services designed for five‑nines availability. (networkworld.com) At the event Cisco’s monitoring flagged continued activity from the ApateWeb campaign but reported only two campaign-associated domains — gossippass.com and kettledroopingcontinuation.com — a marked drop from volumes seen at U.S. events. (blogs.cisco.com) Cisco marked its 10th year as Black Hat Europe’s Official Security Cloud Provider and said its Secure Access stack was used to protect the conference NOC during the show. (blogs.cisco.com) Black Hat’s briefings and summits this year explicitly spotlighted nation‑state threats and AI‑powered cyber warfare, while panels and outside forums debated the legal and strategic pathways for offensive cyber operations — discussions that mirror a broader policy trend toward blending offensive tools with defense of federal networks and critical infrastructure. (businesswire.com)
