Introduction
It’s been a little over a year because we introduced Threat Grid combination with the Meraki MX, and ever since, it’s become an important tool for the clients that have enabled this combination. However the clients who haven’t enabled it may not understand why this integration isn’t just crucial for them– it’s also important for everyone on the internet!

This isn’t the first time we’ve spoken about Threat Grid on the Meraki blog site. Since its debut, both Threat Grid and the MX have gotten better, but they have also gotten better together. In this post we will check out in more technical detail what Threat Grid is and how it fits into the Meraki security architecture. Most importantly, we’ll explore why it’s made the web a more secure place for everybody.

AMP + Threat Grid
Cisco Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) is an intrinsic part of the Meraki MX advanced security offering and has actually been for over 2 years. Over that time AMP has scanned hundreds of countless files per week, blocked numerous countless malicious files each week, and sent out countless retrospective alerts per week. This is particularly essential when you consider that the volume of malware has increase by 10x in the last two years.

As you ‘d anticipate, Meraki does this by leveraging cloud technology. Once upon a time, there was a start-up company called Immunet AV and they had an incredibly clever service for telling whether a file was great, bad or hadn’t been seen prior to; in security geek language, files were labeled “Clean,” “Malicious,” or “Unknown.” That company was gotten by SourceFire, who in turn was acquired by Cisco, much like Meraki. Today, Meraki MX leverages this innovation, resulting in consumers getting real-time security from known malicious files across numerous file types and numerous risk vectors.

OK, that’s great, but what about those scary “day-zero” exploits that we hear about in the news all the time? Whilst it’s still true that you shouldn’t think everything you read, day-zero exploits certainly exist, as after all someone needs to get hit first with every make use of. Though we are all lured to think “it won’t happen to me,” there is a concrete probability that it will. If you’re the person responsible for info security risk management at your organization, then it’s your responsibility to show duty of care and alleviate as much danger as possible.

This is what Threat Grid helps you do by authoritatively and quickly letting you understand if “unidentified” files going through your MX are day-zero malware or not.

Danger Grid Deep Dive
As you would expect, Threat Grid is very easy to enable for a MX network. Once made it possible for, it starts working right away. When a file is downloaded through the MX, the hash of the partial file is compared against the AMP cloud; if it is unknown to AMP, then it gets sent straight to Threat Grid, as revealed listed below:

The file is then detonated, which is an expensive way of saying opened and allowed to do its thing, in a virtual Microsoft Windows sandbox environment that is entirely separate and distinct from the consumer infrastructure. Hazard Grid now both actively and passively observes how the file behaves, by looking at how it connects with system software, services, and network resources. At the same time, Threat Grid parses the important things the file does through around 900 behavioral indications to understand whether the file is malicious or not.

Once this is total, Threat Grid automatically develops a report with both a high level “Threat score” and links to forensic examination tools, also built into the platform. An example of this report is revealed below:

Take a look at this fantastic Meraki webinar if you desire to see this report and the forensic tools being utilized in a demo.

Finally, if the file was harmful, you’ll get an email to let you know that something bad survived and with links to Security Center and any relevant removal actions you need to follow to return to safety.

The cloud just got smarter
Now if anyone else sees that file come through their Meraki MX, Cisco FirePower, Cisco WSA or AMP for Endpoints-enabled smart device, it will be instantly blocked because Threat Grid upgraded the disposition state of the file in the Cisco AMP Cloud. Suggesting that you not just detected and can stop the bad guys on your network, but you also stopped the bad guys for the remainder of the world!

Individuals who make this automated defense take place are Cisco Talos and they are a team of numerous people and girls who are the internet security equivalent of the Justice League (or Avengers, if you choose). They have had a hand in pacifying, deconstructing and safeguarding against every web danger you have actually heard about in the past 2 years. And when they’ve found out how to stop the bad guys, they pump that knowledge right back in the Meraki MX and other Cisco products. This suggests that, indirectly, you are assisting make the web a safe place just by being a Meraki client, more so if you have Threat Grid.

Talos likewise takes risk intelligence information from many other Cisco security items, including lots that operate on or are integrated natively with the Meraki MX, as revealed listed below:

Conclusion
So, if you are already one of the many Meraki customers with an MX network, walk a little taller, because Talos has your back. And if you actually require to understand whether or not that file the CEO simply downloaded was a feline video or a piece of ransomware, then Threat Grid is for you.