May 8, 2016
Cyber security is a never-ending arms race between hackers and security professionals. Network technology developers need to devote constant attention to the refinement of their security measures. Cloud-enabled networking hardware developer, Meraki, is no different. Just a few weeks ago, Meraki released their 2016 Q1 summary, and so far it has been a busy year for their security initiatives.
From new products to powerful new integrations, Meraki has never been more equipped to securely deliver the network support their customers need.
Who is Meraki?
Acquired by Cisco in 2012, Meraki has long provided consistent value to their customers. Their switches, routers, and firewalls were one of the first to integrate cloud computing technology and enable an IT team to administer their entire network, across multiple locations, from a single pane of glass.
Cisco AMP: Advanced Malware Protection and Meraki MX
Cisco’s Advanced Malware Protection (AMP) software is now integrated with the Meraki MX line of firewalls. AMP is a comprehensive security platform that protects an environment across each stage of the attack continuum—before, during, and after the attack.
Every day, Cisco Talos, the world’s largest hub of cyber threat intelligence, analyzes upwards of 1.1 million malware samples, and sends that information to the Cisco AMP community. In total, their growing database of malicious file signatures contains 170 million known malicious files. If any of them were to attempt to enter through the Meraki MX Firewalls, Cisco AMP would recognize the file and bar its entry.
This level of intelligence also works retroactively. Cisco AMP will alert the security team if it later learns of a malicious file that entered the network in the past and then work to remove it.
New Meraki Security Center
The Meraki dashboard replaced their Security Reports tool with the new Security Center. It provides a single pane of glass for all security-related events in your environment. Using this tool, administrators will be able to recognize threats that appear across multiple environments and identify which clients and networks are potentially infected.
MX65 and MX65W 
In late 2015, Meraki released the MX84 firewall to bolster the lower end of their product line and replace the MX80. Meraki continues that trend with the MX65 and MX65W. They weigh only three pounds and recommend a maximum of 50 clients, but these little firewalls can still achieve 250 Mbps stateful firewall throughput.
Plus, they have access to 802.11ac WiFi and are equipped with twelve total ports (two WAN, two power over Ethernet + LAN ports, and eight LAN ports). While not designed to protect an enterprise environment, the MX65 is a good fit for a small retail branch or clinic.
Other Meraki Releases
This represents just the security side of Meraki’s efforts last quarter. In addition to Cisco AMP, the MX84, and the new Security Center, Meraki also added new mobility support features to their Systems Manager and released a new indoor WiFi access point called the MR42.
Though still young, Meraki has made great strides in refining and expanding their product line. We look forward to seeing what they have in store for the rest of the year.
Recently, Meraki has included a suite of solutions for security specific to schools. To find out more, schedule a Whiteboard Wednesday with our team today.
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