Securing Internet Access Using Cisco Umbrella

The Cisco Umbrella, formerly known as OpenDNS was founded in 2006 by David Ulevitch. It fills traditional gaps in network security by blocking the outbound requests made to malicious domains

Securing the Internet Using Cisco Umbrella- Cisco Umbrella Overview architecture
Cisco Umbrella – Overview Architecture

Key Use Cases

DNS protectionVisibility into types of activities the internet-connected users and devices are requesting and the cloud services that exist in your network
Enforce categorical blocking policies for acceptable use, i.e. adult content, gambling, etc
Remote Browser Isolation (RBI)Isolation of web traffic between user device and browser-based threats
Cloud-delivered firewall(CDFW)Provide visibility and control for traffic going to the internet
Layer 3/4 firewall to log all activity and block unwanted traffic using IP, port, and protocol rules
CASB(Cloud access security broker)Remove malware from cloud-based file storage applications
Reports on vendor category, application name, and volume of activity
Built-in content classifiers including PII, PCI and PHI
Cisco Umbrella Key use cases
Cisco Umbrella dashboard
Cisco Umbrella Reporting
Cisco Umbrella Reporting

Competition and Pricing

Umbrella uses per-user licensing and also packages the features and benefits using various offerings. And, to note the direct competition to the solution is from the following key vendors

Zscaler
Akamai
Symantec Bluecoat systems
Fortinet

Access and Certificate Requirements

Umbrella cloud access uses standard DNS port 53/UDP and 53/TCP to communicate

Ports and ProtocolSource/Destination
53 UDPEndpoints/208.67.222.222
Endpoints/208.67.220.220
53 TCPEndpoints/208.67.222.222
Endpoints/208.67.220.220

Install the Cisco Umbrella root certificate on identified endpoints that will use the Roaming Security module. The block page uses a certificate signed by the Cisco Root CA. When the pages get access deny message, it uses the certificate to present block pages to the end user

Summary

Umbrella Global Infrastructure handles over 80 billion internet requests a day. consequently, the threat intelligence around the solution provides immense value in identifying malicious domains and associated activities. For more on security and infrastructure content please visit the Cybersecurity section

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