Cisco Secure Email vs Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense comparison

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Comparison Buyer's Guide
Executive Summary

We performed a comparison between Cisco Secure Email and Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense based on real PeerSpot user reviews.

Find out in this report how the two Email Security solutions compare in terms of features, pricing, service and support, easy of deployment, and ROI.
To learn more, read our detailed Cisco Secure Email vs. Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense Report (Updated: March 2024).
765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.
Featured Review
Quotes From Members
We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use.
Here are some excerpts of what they said:
Pros
"Microsoft Defender for Office 365 helps people to work remotely. It is a secure solution. We don't need to use our company's computers or get VPN connections to the networks. I can control how they share screens and what they send to the devices. It keeps our organizations confidential and sensitive information safe.""It also gives me good visibility because, with Defender, I'm using a Microsoft product to defend Microsoft products. The integration was really seamless and I have wide visibility because it picks up almost everything. Literally, I can see almost every activity that happens, from the e-mail to the workstation itself.""The solution is very easy to use. All you have to do is to assign the license to the end-user and it's done. The customer will only have the feature activated, and the solution will monitor the emails to determine if they are a threat or not.""Microsoft Defender for Office 365 has improved my organization's security. It makes it easier to manage the infrastructure without the help of third-party applications.""Our customers are satisfied with Defender for 365 because Microsoft products are easy to use and customize to meet the client's needs. Everything is in one place, so we can adjust policies as needed for phishing, DLP, ATP, or any other security features that our clients want to apply.""Does a thorough job of examining email and URLs for malicious content.""It gives us visibility into threats and, for endpoints, it helps us to prioritize threats. We used to have a lack of visibility, but now our time to detect and respond has decreased.""At the moment we are satisfied with this product. It's a stable, scalable, and resilient solution for us."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Pros →

"The product blocks spam emails.""There are a lot of filters for scam emails and things like that work out of the box. You can also use the antivirus features. I like its features.""The filtering is definitely better at catching both spam and malicious messages, and there's a lot of extremely granular ability for setting up rules. You can do it the way you want to. The Microsoft solution tends to be pretty limited in how it allows some of that to be done.""Cisco Secure Email has strong inbound services.""The security features are valuable.""I love the Advanced Malware Protection feature. It works very well... The appliance has more security such as SDF, DKIM, DMARC, and encryption.""The most valuable features are Advanced Malware Protection, URL filtering, and of course Reputation Filtering.""The tech engineers are very knowledgeable."

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"Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox can handle a complete portfolio, which is required to protect any kind of attack coming from emails. However, it does not have advanced phishing, but it is available through Cisco. If you compare Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox with the competition, in the competition you have to have one or two solutions together to address the customer's requirement, whereas Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox is addressing everything, such as web domain and email protection. If there is any kind of challenge it will come across through email.""This solution is easy to use.""It has an efficient email filtering feature.""Cisco has a threat mechanism called cloud-based Talos, where all the threats are inbuilt.""The features and functionalities are much better than Microsoft's in-built Defender plan.""On ease of use, it rates very high. It's something that I was able to get into without really looking at any documentation. I wanted to see what it felt like before I started looking at any documentation on how to use it, and it was very easy to use. It works very smoothly. The user experience is very intuitive. They did an amazing job on that.""Secure Email Threat Defense's scalability is good.""The ability to see east-west traffic is its most valuable feature. Traditionally, email defense focuses on north-south, inbound-outbound, egress-ingress traffic. With Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox, it's able to quickly identify, track, tag, and categorize emails that are internal. That can typically give us visibility into if there's an internal compromised account (for example). Someone can then use that internal compromised account to email additional accounts with either malicious software or links, but internal within that Office tenant. Effectively, that email message never leaves the tenant. Any of the mail gateways really do not have any method or way of seeing this traffic since it's not leaving the environment."

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Cons
"One area for improvement is support, in terms of being able to reach them and, especially, technical support for configuration.""In one of the reports I can get the exact place where a vulnerable file resides. But for that, I need to explicitly go into the device and check. If they could include that file part in the report, without my having to go to the device itself, that would help.""Microsoft should provide more documentation for users so they can self-educate. I would like to see more documentation for advanced security features.""They have moved features from one console to another. Things have been moved around in the interface and it takes me time to find where certain features are.""The certification training for Defender for 365 needs to be deeper and incorporate Sentinel. I took all the security courses except one, and Sentinel isn't included.""The XDR dashboard has room for improvement.""The visibility for the weaknesses in the system and unauthorized access can be improved.""The pre-sales cost calculations could be more transparent."

More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Cons →

"The user interface could be updated.""The Forged Email Detection feature needs improvement, particularly with domain. The sensors are not that good and the rules sets are unclear.""The configuration UI should be made more intuitive. Currently, it takes a while to understand how to do the basic configurations.""The user interface needs some improvement to become more user-friendly. The graphics could be better. It's designed more for a technical user rather than a business user.""We would like to see more options for the customization of content filters.""We cannot manage multiple devices from a single UI.""The hardware is not up to the mark. Two to three times a year we have complete downtime.""The interface is dated. It has looked pretty much the same for 15 years or so. It would be helpful to be able to do everything from one spot. The centralized quarantine and reporting are completely separate from policy administration."

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"From a technical point of view, Cisco is far behind in terms of cybersecurity, and it has to improve very much.""The tool gives false positives and it needs to be more accurate. I would like to see AI as a new feature.""The solution is a bit expensive.""We encounter issues while searching for missing emails.""The pricing could always be better.""This solution could be improved by integration with Sandbox.""Customers will benefit greatly from monthly billing because the majority of customers today use the cloud, be it Office 365, or Google Cloud.""Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox can improve by adding advanced phishing, then the solution would become the best in the market. However, this could increase the price even more. Additionally, if CES with domain protection could be added it would be an even better solution."

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Pricing and Cost Advice
  • "It's a user-base subscription."
  • "From the pricing point of view, like any other product in the market, there is scope for negotiation."
  • "Defender is a little bit more expensive as compared to others. We are in the manufacturing environment. So, we don't have a high budget for all of our endpoint devices. Its cost is a major concern for us."
  • "For licensing, it's usually a yearly package for customers who are subscribed to Office 365, but they can also pay on a monthly basis."
  • "Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is an add-on to the Office license. Many customers are purchasing this solution."
  • "Microsoft Defender for Office 365 comes with Microsoft Windows. It is free with the operating system."
  • "The solution saves money so we have seen a return on investment."
  • "Defender for 365 comes in various plans and licenses, along with other Microsoft security solutions. Purchasing this kind of package or security bundle gives good value for money, and that's what I recommend."
  • More Microsoft Defender for Office 365 Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "We do annual licensing for Cisco Secure Email Gatewayand SMA together, and possibly SmartNet support. Packaged together, the cost is just under $38,000."
  • "In addition to the standard licensing, there is a cost for SMARTnet as well."
  • "Pricing depends on your environment and which model you want to buy."
  • "Licensing costs depend on how many users there are. It could range between $5 and $7 per month, per user."
  • "The license was not per user, the license model was per feature. You could choose anti-virus, anti-spam, etc. It was feature-based and charged yearly."
  • "There were no other costs in addition to the standard licensing fees."
  • "We were using Proofpoint and then we switched to Cisco... reportability was one of the main reasons we switched, but the biggest one was cost. If you can get an equivalent functionality for a better price it's wise to do so. That's what our primary decision came down to: We could get equivalent functionality at a lower price point."
  • "It is not that costly. We pay for the solution through a contractor and pay an annual fee."
  • More Cisco Secure Email Pricing and Cost Advice →

  • "The feedback from vendors and customer is that it is expensive."
  • "Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox does not have any competition with Sophos, Trend Micro, or other vendors of the world. However, there is a pricing premium for the solution. One has to look at it from that angle that while they are buying Cisco, there will be a premium, and Cisco justifies that premium value. That's why they're charging a high price."
  • "It is expensive compared to other vendors."
  • "The solution’s pricing is manageable."
  • More Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense Pricing and Cost Advice →

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    Questions from the Community
    Top Answer:Threat Explorer is an invaluable tool for me, and it plays a crucial role in helping me discern the origins of various… more »
    Top Answer:The product must provide better malware detection. The detection algorithms don't perform the way I hope they would.
    Top Answer:The tool comes with AI features. It is good for clients who already use Cisco products due to integration.
    Top Answer:Cisco Secure Email is more expensive than other products. I rate it a five out of ten. There are no additional costs… more »
    Top Answer:Cisco Email Secure's pricing needs to be less. We have vendors who provide cheaper solutions with the same features.
    Top Answer:Secure Email Threat Defense's scalability is good.
    Top Answer:The tool gives false positives and it needs to be more accurate. I would like to see AI as a new feature.
    Comparisons
    Also Known As
    MS Defender for Office 365
    Cisco Email Security, IronPort, Cisco Email Security, ESA, Email Security Appliances
    Cisco Secure Email Cloud Mailbox, Cisco CMD, Cisco Cloud Mailbox Defense
    Learn More
    Overview

    Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is a comprehensive security solution designed to protect organizations against advanced threats in their email, collaboration, and productivity environments. It combines the power of Microsoft's threat intelligence, machine learning, and behavioral analytics to provide real-time protection against phishing, malware, ransomware, and other malicious attacks.

    With Microsoft Defender for Office 365, organizations can safeguard their email communication by detecting and blocking malicious links, attachments, and unsafe email content. It employs advanced anti-phishing capabilities to identify and prevent sophisticated phishing attacks that attempt to steal sensitive information or compromise user credentials.

    This solution also offers robust protection against malware and ransomware. It leverages machine learning algorithms to analyze email attachments and URLs in real-time, identifying and blocking malicious content before it reaches users' inboxes. Additionally, it provides advanced threat-hunting capabilities, allowing security teams to proactively investigate and respond to potential threats.

    Microsoft Defender for Office 365 goes beyond email protection and extends its security features to other collaboration tools like SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams. It scans files and documents stored in these platforms, ensuring that they are free from malware and other malicious content. It also provides visibility into user activities, helping organizations detect and mitigate insider threats.

    Furthermore, this solution offers rich reporting and analytics capabilities, providing organizations with insights into their security posture and threat landscape. It enables security administrators to monitor and manage security incidents, track trends, and take proactive measures to enhance their overall security posture.

    Cisco Secure Email is an email security solution that provides advanced protection to safeguard inboxes. The solution includes comprehensive defense from the most damaging threats so your employees and organization can remain secure at all times. In addition, it includes advanced threat defense capabilities that detect, block, and remediate threats in incoming email faster. Simultaneously, it protects an organization’s brand, prevents data loss, and secures important information in transit with end-to-end encryption.

    Cisco Secure Email Features

    Cisco Secure Email has many valuable key features. Some of the most useful ones include:

    • Advanced threat analysis: Easily identify the malicious techniques used in attacks targeting your organization. Understand the specific business risks and categorize threats to gain insight into the parts of your organization that are most vulnerable to attack.
    • Robust, actionable threat data: The solution’s searchable threat analysis data provides critical contextual insight to the attack scope and breadth and expedites remediation.
    • Real-time URL analysis: With this feature, you can drop emails with risky links automatically or block access to newly infected sites with real-time URL analysis to protect against phishing.
    • Domain-based message authentication (DMARC): Users can prevent brand abuse from attackers using their organization’s domain to carry out phishing campaigns with automation of the domain-based message authentication (DMARC) process.
    • Data loss prevention (DLP): The solution enables users to protect sensitive content in outgoing emails.

    Cisco Secure Email Benefits

    There are many benefits to implementing Cisco Secure Email. Some of the biggest advantages the solution offers include:

    • Optimize your defenses: The solution is designed to protect your organization from threats that can come from multiple sources, including phishing, malware, and ransomware. It can defend against all of them with industry-leading threat intelligence that empowers you to act quickly.
    • More efficient processes: You can use the solution’s orchestration feature to simplify workflows, reduce the burden on your team, and focus on more strategic initiatives.
    • Easy-to-manage tools: The solution is built with tools that are user-friendly and help you spend less time managing alerts. They allow users to quickly detect emerging threats and quarantine suspected threats to prevent their spread.
    • Flexible license options: Cisco Secure Email provides three different license choices: Secure Email Essentials, Secure Email Advantage, and Secure Email Premier.
    • Increase spam catch rates: Cisco Secure Email blocks unwanted emails using a multilayered scanning architecture.

    Reviews from Real Users

    Cisco Secure Email is a solution that stands out when compared to many of its competitors. Some of its major advantages are that it has an intuitive interface, reputation filtering, few false positives, and great protection features.

    Enrique J., Owner at Jolly Security Inc., says, "It has an intuitive, clear graphical interface where you can deploy your policies and understand the overall flow. The most valuable feature is reputation filtering.”

    The solution has a “low rate of false positives, good support, and it integrates well with other Cisco security products,” explains Mark R., IT Admin / Manager at a retailer.

    PeerSpot user Charles N., Network Security Engineer at Galaxy Backbone Ltd., mentions, “It is doing its work. It is doing what it was actually designed to do. They have a lot of features such as Advanced Malware Protection, Email Protection, Advanced Phishing Protection, Antispam, Antivirus, and Outbreak Filters.”

    Cisco's secure email threat defense is designed to provide comprehensive protection against email-based threats. With the increasing sophistication of cyber attacks, it is crucial for organizations to have a robust solution in place to safeguard their email communications.

    The product offers advanced threat detection capabilities, leveraging machine learning algorithms and real-time analysis to identify and block malicious emails. It scans incoming and outgoing emails for suspicious attachments, links, and content, ensuring that only safe and legitimate emails reach the users' inbox.

    To combat phishing attacks, our solution employs advanced anti-phishing techniques, including URL reputation analysis and email header analysis. It proactively detects and blocks phishing emails, preventing users from falling victim to fraudulent schemes and protecting sensitive information.

    The Secure Email Threat Defense also includes robust anti-malware and anti-spam features. It scans email attachments for malware and viruses, preventing them from infiltrating the organization's network. Additionally, it filters out spam emails, reducing the clutter in users' inboxes and improving productivity.

    Administrators have full visibility and control over email security. They can set up customizable policies to enforce security measures, such as blocking specific file types or restricting email access from certain domains. Detailed reports and analytics provide insights into email threats and help in fine-tuning the security settings.

    Sample Customers
    Microsoft Defender for Office 365 is trusted by companies such as Ithaca College.
    SUNY Old Westbury, CoxHealth, City of Fullerton, Indra
    Luiss University, Lone Star College, T-Systems, Magyar Telekom
    Top Industries
    REVIEWERS
    Manufacturing Company16%
    Computer Software Company16%
    Comms Service Provider13%
    Logistics Company6%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Financial Services Firm8%
    Manufacturing Company7%
    Government7%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company20%
    Energy/Utilities Company10%
    Retailer10%
    Manufacturing Company8%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company17%
    Educational Organization15%
    Financial Services Firm7%
    Government6%
    REVIEWERS
    Computer Software Company29%
    Wellness & Fitness Company14%
    Transportation Company14%
    Government14%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Computer Software Company37%
    Comms Service Provider8%
    Financial Services Firm6%
    Government6%
    Company Size
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business42%
    Midsize Enterprise16%
    Large Enterprise42%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business29%
    Midsize Enterprise19%
    Large Enterprise51%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business32%
    Midsize Enterprise32%
    Large Enterprise37%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business23%
    Midsize Enterprise27%
    Large Enterprise49%
    REVIEWERS
    Small Business18%
    Midsize Enterprise36%
    Large Enterprise45%
    VISITORS READING REVIEWS
    Small Business19%
    Midsize Enterprise12%
    Large Enterprise69%
    Buyer's Guide
    Cisco Secure Email vs. Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense
    March 2024
    Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure Email vs. Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense and other solutions. Updated: March 2024.
    765,386 professionals have used our research since 2012.

    Cisco Secure Email is ranked 2nd in Email Security with 55 reviews while Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is ranked 16th in Email Security with 11 reviews. Cisco Secure Email is rated 8.4, while Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is rated 8.2. The top reviewer of Cisco Secure Email writes "Has effortless spam control, improves security posture, and frees up our IT department's time". On the other hand, the top reviewer of Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense writes "Excellent support, reliable, and useful notification". Cisco Secure Email is most compared with Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), Trellix Collaboration Security, Fortinet FortiMail, Proofpoint Email Protection and Trend Micro Email Security, whereas Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense is most compared with Kiteworks, Microsoft Exchange Online Protection (EOP), Armorblox and Abnormal Security. See our Cisco Secure Email vs. Cisco Secure Email Threat Defense report.

    See our list of best Email Security vendors.

    We monitor all Email Security reviews to prevent fraudulent reviews and keep review quality high. We do not post reviews by company employees or direct competitors. We validate each review for authenticity via cross-reference with LinkedIn, and personal follow-up with the reviewer when necessary.