Cisco Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility Client v2.x White Paper

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The speed with which change is happening is also challenging for the enterprise. Corporate IT groups must adapt

quickly to a proliferating set of new mobile platforms; they must reassess their security posture and framework in

relation to new devices. Consumers are adopting new technology faster than standards are being developed, and

the tools designed to help manage the onslaught of requests for support of these new mobile form factors are

behind in keeping up.

Perhaps the most basic challenge is in securing the new modes of access. Fundamentally, the old security

paradigm

—“crunchy on the outside, mushy on the inside”—is no longer valid in today’s mobility environment. The

perimeter boundary is truly gon

e and the network edge is everywhere, even in the palms of mobile employees’

hands. What are the corporate liabilities of losing these mobile devices? What role do they play in introducing

traditional security threats into the network? Corporations likely have the infrastructure to deal with these issues for

some form factors, like PCs, but for newer form factors, corporations lack the capabilities to protect corporate data,

secure their networks, and provide adequate service levels for application access.

The Answer: Secure Mobility

Enterprises and their IT groups need a framework and solutions to securely enable mobility. At Cisco, we believe

the answer is secure mobility

—providing access, security, and choice:

●

Easy access to applications and information that users need to do their jobs

●

Accurate security to protect endpoints from threats and to enforce corporate policy on devices

●

The ability to support a wide variety of devices in order to provide users with a choice of which tools to use

These fundamental characteristics establish the foundation that enterprises need to embrace mobility.

Cisco’s Value Proposition

Cisco is ushering in secure mobility, delivering a network posture that enables “anywhere, anytime” optimized

connectivity for anyone related t

o a company’s activities. Cisco

AnyConnect Secure Mobility solution sits within

this framework as a set of solutions designed to seamlessly and securely enable the mobile workforce. The

AnyConnect solution consists of a Cisco ASA series appliance, Cisco AnyConnect Secure Mobility client and web

security enforcement with either Cisco IronPort Web Security Appliance or Cisco ScanSafe.

AnyConnect Secure Mobility Solution

Cisco AnyConnect client is a unified endpoint software client that is compatible with a

ll of today’s major enterprise

mobility platforms (PCs and smaller form factors). Built on foundational VPN technology, AnyConnect Secure

Mobility solution extends its value proposition beyond remote access to leading-edge user friendliness and state-

of-the-art network-based security. Sitting on endpoint computer devices, AnyConnect Secure Mobility enables

security in the network fabric behind the firewall and provides unprecedented security and corporate policy

enablement when users are mobile, outside of the corporate firewall.

The next section takes a closer look at the security challenges enterprises are facing in enabling mobility and the
opportunity for AnyConnect Secure Mobility solution to help bridge the gap between today’s reality and the promise

of secure mobility.