The Cisco Self-Defending Network: The network's ability to identify, prevent, and adapt to threats.

The first phase of the Cisco Self-Defending Network strategy involves integrating security capabilities directly into network elements including routers, switches, wireless access points, and standalone network appliances. The second phase, which includes the industrywide Cisco Network Admission Control (NAC) effort, enables security-enabled network elements to communicate with one another in a collaborative manner, while extending security capabilities to individual user devices that connect to other networks and might infect a corporate network.

Adaptive Threat Defense is the next phase and helps to further minimize network security risks by dynamically addressing threats at multiple layers, enabling tighter control of network traffic, endpoints, users, and applications. It aims to protect every packet and every packet flow on a network.

With the introduction of Adaptive Threat Defense, Cisco has announced more than ten new product and technology innovations to help provide ubiquitous, layered protection and improved operational efficiency of business processes and applications.