Firmware Update: Cisco SMA AsyncOS 11.0

Cisco has released a firmware update for its Content Security Management Appliance‘s, which are abbreviated to SMA. The technology descends from IronPort Systems that were bought by Cisco in 2007, although that was decades ago, you can still hear the name IronPort for these appliances. For the supported upgrade paths, it is recommended to read the documentation or contact Cisco’s TAC. This firmware is called 11.0 and has 11.0.0-115 as the exact version number. The list of updates for 11.0 looks like this:

What’s New In This Release

• Support for TLS v1.2 – Cisco Email Security appliance now supports an additional SSL method: TLS v1.2. If you were not using TLS v1 prior to the upgrade, the SSL methods are not automatically set to TLS v1.2 after the upgrade. You can use the sslconfig command in CLI to view or modify the existing SSL configuration. Note, The highest supported TLS or SSL method in the client advertisement is always selected during the negotiation.
• Support for Two-Factor Authentication – Cisco Content Security Management appliance now supports two-factor authentication that ensures secure access when you log into your appliance. You can configure two-factor authentication for your appliance through any standard RADIUS server that complies with standard RFC. You can enable two-factor authentication in one of the following ways:
  • System Administration > Users page in the web interface. See the “Distributing Administrative Tasks” chapter in the user guide.
  • userconfig > twofactorauth command in the CLI.

  If you have enabled two-factor authentication on your appliance, you can add it to a Security Management appliance using pre-shared keys. Use the smaconfig > add command in the CLI to configure this setting.

• Support for new features in AsyncOS 11.0 for Cisco Email Security Appliances – Reporting support for the following new feature in AsyncOS 11.0 for Cisco Email Security Appliances:
  • GeoDistribution. Use this report page to view details such as:
    • Top incoming mail connections based on country of origin in graphical format.
    • Total incoming mail connections based on country of origin in tabular format.

  For details, search for the relevant terms in the email reporting chapter of the user guide. The following reports have been enhanced to show details of outgoing messages scanned by the AMP engine:

  • AMP File Analysis
  • AMP Verdict Updates
  • Overview Page
  • Outgoing Destinations
  • Outgoing Senders
  • Internal Users

  For details, search for the relevant terms in the email reporting chapter of the user guide.