USA Introduces Recommendations to Strengthen Cisco FirePower Threat Defense Systems
The United States of America (USA) has introduced recommendations for the configuration and strengthening of Cisco FirePower Threat Defense (FTD) systems. The purpose of this management is to assist systemic and network administrators in setting up next generation firewalls (NGFW).
Cisco FTD systems offer comprehensive protection, including application control and visibility (AVC), URL filtration, user identification, protection against malicious programs, and intrusion prevention. Proper configuration of these systems enhances overall organizational security.
The National Security Agency (NSA) experts focus on the following key practices in their report:
- Realization of access control: This configuration enables detailed traffic control, reducing the risks of unauthorized access and blocking undesirable traffic.
- Implementation of the Prevention Population Policy: This policy controls traffic in IDS and IPS systems based on Cisco Talos’s basic policies.
- Implementation of the SSL Policy: These policies control the process of checking and decrypting encrypted traffic within the device.
- Implementation of a policy for harmful programs and files: These policies control the types of files that can be resolved, blocked, or inspected during the passage of traffic through the device.
- Activation of secure VPN settings: When creating a VPN with the device, it is important to use secure protocols and strong encryption algorithms.
- Strengthening FXOS protection (Firewall XTensible Operating System): FXOS is the operating system used in FirePower devices. To minimize operational risks, it is recommended to regularly update FXOS to the latest version.
The NSA has prepared a full report on the best practices that should be followed during the configuration and implementation of network devices