Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) 3.4 has arrived, bringing a host of new features and enhancements that elevate network security and management. Here’s a quick look at what’s new and improved in this latest release. ### 1. Enhanced User Experience The new dashboard layout allows network administrators to customize their views, showing only the information they need—such as active sessions, alerts, or policy changes. For instance, an admin can create a personalized dashboard that highlights the status of guest access in real time, making it easier to manage visitor network usage. ### 2. Improved Device Profiling With enhanced profiling, ISE 3.4 can accurately identify a wider range of devices, including various IoT devices like smart thermostats and medical equipment. When a new smart camera connects to the network, ISE can recognize it and automatically apply the appropriate security policies, ensuring it is isolated from sensitive data. ### 3. Advanced Analytics and Reporting The new analytics feature allows admins to generate custom reports on user behavior patterns over time. An organization can create a report that shows peak access times for different departments, helping them to allocate bandwidth more effectively and identify any unusual access patterns. ### 4. Simplified Policy Management An admin can now create a policy that automatically adjusts access levels based on user roles and device types. If an employee connects with a corporate laptop, they might receive full network access, while a guest using a personal device would be limited to the guest network, all set up easily through the new policy interface. ### 5. Expanded Integrations Cisco ISE 3.4 can seamlessly integrate with third-party SIEM tools like Splunk. This means that security incidents detected by ISE can be automatically fed into Splunk for further analysis, enabling a more comprehensive view of network security and faster incident response. ### 6. Improved Scalability In a large enterprise with multiple branches, ISE 3.4 can handle thousands of concurrent authentications and authorizations without performance degradation. During a company-wide onboarding event, where numerous new devices connect to the network, ISE can efficiently manage the increased load without slowing down network access. ### 7. Enhanced Security Features The improved threat detection capabilities in ISE 3.4 allow for real-time alerts when abnormal behavior is detected, such as an unusual number of failed login attempts from a single device. If a device suddenly starts making requests outside of its normal usage patterns, ISE can flag it for investigation and automatically quarantine it until resolved. To learn more about all the existing changes: [Release Notes for Cisco Identity Services Engine, Release 3.4 - Cisco](https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/td/docs/security/ise/3-4/release_notes/b_ise_34_RN.html#concept_qym_txq_4sb) These enhancements collectively empower organizations to manage their networks more effectively and securely, adapting to the evolving landscape of device connectivity and cyber threats.