Cisco Email Security vs Microsoft ATP: Difference and Comparison

Emails are very important as it holds important information. In today’s world, thousands of emails are sent everywhere. Email security has become very important.

Email security is something where various techniques and methods are used to secure the contents of emails from spam, phishing, malware etc.

It protects against unauthorized access, loss etc. Email security is important because attackers first take hold of emails only to gain and obtain valuable information about the company.

Cisco and Microsoft are two companies that provide securities and protection.

Key Takeaways

1. Cisco Email Security focuses on protecting against email threats, whereas Microsoft ATP covers a broader range of security concerns within the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
2. Cisco’s solution offers advanced phishing protection and outbound message filtering, while Microsoft ATP provides integrated threat protection across email, documents, and collaboration tools.
3. Organizations with existing Cisco infrastructure may find it easier to integrate Cisco Email Security, but Microsoft ATP may be a better fit for those heavily invested in the Microsoft 365 platform.

Cisco Email Security vs Microsoft ATP

The difference between Cisco Email Security and Microsoft ATP is that the Email security provided by Cisco that provides a cloud getaway where the users receive millions of emails. Microsoft ATP, i.e. Advanced Threat Protection, has a very simplified operation that is very easy to use. Unlike Cisco, there is no need to switch on multiple products in Microsoft. Microsoft ATP automatically cleans 90% of spam and phishing attacks which is a little bit difficult in Cisco Email security. In Cisco, emails are filtered, and the burden falls on its employees.

Cisco is an American multinational company that has its headquarters in California. Cisco manufactures and develops a lot of software, types of equipment, high-technology products and networking hardware.

Cisco found out that attackers turn on email to leak important information. So they included advanced threat technology that can detect, block and retract the threats in incoming emails.

It also protects the organization’s data from losing its name and provides end-to-end encryption.

Microsoft ATP or Windows Defender before it gets updated in 2020. Microsoft ATP is a component of Microsoft Windows with an anti-malware component.

In the year 2019, Microsoft announced Microsoft Defender ATP for Mac to protect their customers. This was launched for the business users of Mac.

Then after its successful attempt to protect the businesses from attackers, it was launched for Android and iOS devices in the year 2020.

It includes the following things Microsoft SmartScreen, a firewall and malware scanning.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Cisco Email security	Microsoft ATP
Launched	2009	2019
Feature	URL filtering, Advanced Malware Protection, and Reputation Filtering.	Safe attachments,  policies, safe links, and the ability to protect from the zero-day threat.
Encryption	End to End Encryption	Encrypted
Configuration	Configurable	Doesn’t need to be configured
Defence system	Multi-layered	Single Layer
Price	Cheaper	|Costlier

What is Cisco Email Security?

Cisco email security is a cloud-based system that provides comprehensive protection from all kinds of spoofing, phishing, spam, malware, threats etc.

Cisco, after seeing that the attackers first target the email for important information, has made their advanced threat detection

which is capable of protecting and securing the data and also it prevents loss of data and provides end-to-end encryption.

Besides this sphere, a lot of features like Cisco Email security provide a multilayered defence against malware.

It is capable of detecting and blocking threats on a global level with the help of Talos company and various machine models.

Cisco also automatically drops all emails that seek risk to their customers and blocks the newly infected sites with a real-time URL analysis.

It also authenticates the email identities of the senders and tries to learn about their behaviour to prevent attacks. Cisco provides integration with SecureX and has enhanced automation and visibility.

Cisco secures important data in outgoing emails. It is a scalable and flexible cloud-based organization.

It highly secures the messages of an organization. It can be deployed in the virtual, cloud or on-premises and can also migrate to the cloud for flexibility and become hybrid.

It prevents brand abuse and illegitimate e-mail. It preserves domain reputation.

What is Microsoft ATP?

Microsoft ATP was launched recently in 2019. Earlier, Microsoft called it Windows Defender, and it was used to protect users against spyware in Windows 8 version.

Windows Defender gets support from Microsoft SpyNet, allowing the years to report or complain to Microsoft if any spyware is found in their devices.

On March 21st 2019, Windows announced the first version of Microsoft ATP for Mac Business users. It was used to protect the corporate network from various kinds of attacks.

There are various features like in ATP, and users can see and configure the real-time data protection option. It scans the data periodically and automatically.

It also blocks the file the first time if it is found malicious.

Then Microsoft ATP has been integrated with Edge and internet explorer, so downloading the files from the internet will automatically check the files before downloading.

If any malicious file is found, it will give a warning to the users. It is also available in Google Chrome as well and can be used with the help of an extension.

It also has an Application Guard added as an important feature in 2018 that allows users to sandbox their browsing history.

It prevents your system from any malicious virus entering via the website. There are different types of Security agents like auto Start, System Configuration, Window add-ons, application Execution etc.

Main Differences Between Cisco Email Security and Microsoft ATP

1. Cisco Email security was launched in 2009. Microsoft ATP was launched in 2019.
2. Features of Cisco Email security include URL filtering, Advanced Malware Protection, and Reputation Filtering. Features of Microsoft ATP include Safe attachments, policies, safe links, and the ability to protect from the zero-day threat.
3. Cisco Email Security provides end-to-end encryption. Microsoft ATP is encrypted, but it collects some data about the users.
4. In Cisco Email Security, the solution is configurable. While in Microsoft ATP, there is no need to configure it as it is very easy to use.
5. The defence system of Cisco Email Security is multi-layered. The Defense system of Microsoft ATP is single-layered.
6. Cisco Email security is cheaper than Microsoft ATP as it provides more and charges less. Microsoft ATP provides subscriptions on a monthly and yearly basis.

References

1. https://wvvw.easychair.org/publications/preprint_download/Fq7T
2. https://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/121796