Phishing is a type of cyberattack that uses fraudulent emails or other communications to trick users into providing sensitive information or installing malware on their devices1. Phishing can lead to identity theft, data breaches, ransomware infections, and financial losses. To protect employees from phishing attacks, a company can use various solutions that can detect, block, and remediate phishing threats. Two of these solutions are:

Cisco Umbrella: Cisco Umbrella is a cloud-based security platform that provides the first line of defense against threats on the internet, including phishing2. Cisco Umbrella uses DNS-layer security, which can identify and block malicious domains, IPs, and URLs before they can reach the user’s device2. Cisco Umbrella also integrates with Cisco Email Security to provide additional protection against phishing emails that may bypass the email gateway3.

Cisco Email Security Appliance (ESA): Cisco ESA is an email gateway that protects inbound and outbound email traffic from spam, malware, phishing, and other threats4. Cisco ESA uses multiple layers of defense, such as reputation filtering, antivirus scanning, outbreak filters, and content filtering, to prevent malicious emails from reaching the user’s inbox4. Cisco ESA also leverages Cisco Advanced Phishing Protection, which uses machine learning and threat intelligence to identify and block sophisticated phishing attacks that use identity deception techniques5.

References := 1: What Is Phishing? Examples and Phishing Quiz - Cisco 2: Cisco Umbrella - Cloud Delivered Enterprise Security 3: Cisco Umbrella and Cisco Email Security Integration 4: Cisco Secure Email - Cisco 5: Cisco Advanced Phishing Protection - Cisco Video Portal