In today's complex digital landscape, securing your network involves more than just firewalls and antivirus tools. It requires dynamic solutions that can respond to threats in real time and provide centralized visibility across users, devices, and applications. One powerful way to achieve this is by integrating Cisco Identity Services Engine (ISE) with Cisco Umbrella for DNS-layer security.
If you're looking to build or sharpen your skills in this area, consider enrolling in Cisco ISE Training to gain hands-on experience with Cisco’s leading identity-based network access control platform.
This guide walks you through the integration process between Cisco ISE and Cisco Umbrella, offering a practical approach to enhance your DNS security posture.
Why Integrate Cisco ISE and Cisco Umbrella?
Cisco ISE is an identity-based policy platform that authenticates and authorizes users and devices before they gain access to the network. On the other hand, Cisco Umbrella offers cloud-delivered DNS-layer security that blocks malicious domains before a connection is even established.
When combined:
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Cisco ISE identifies who is accessing the network and under what conditions.
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Cisco Umbrella ensures those users are protected by enforcing DNS-layer protection policies, even when off-network.
The integration lets you dynamically assign Umbrella policies based on user roles, device types, or posture status, creating a highly adaptive and secure access control environment.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, ensure the following components are in place:
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Cisco ISE version 2.4 or later
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Cisco Umbrella account (with API credentials)
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ISE pxGrid services enabled
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A functioning Active Directory (AD) integration with ISE
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Network devices capable of using downloadable ACLs or redirect ACLs
Step-by-Step Integration Process
Here’s how to configure the integration between Cisco ISE and Cisco Umbrella to enhance DNS security.
Step 1: Create an API Key in Cisco Umbrella
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Log in to your Cisco Umbrella Dashboard
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Navigate to Admin > API Keys
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Click Create, give it a name, and select Policy API
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Save the API key and Secret securely — you’ll need them to connect from ISE
Step 2: Enable pxGrid on Cisco ISE
Cisco ISE uses pxGrid to share contextual information with third-party systems like Umbrella.
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Go to Administration > pxGrid Services
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Enable pxGrid, Session Directory, and Client Certificate Authentication
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Export the pxGrid node's certificate
This allows Cisco Umbrella to query ISE for contextual session information like user ID, device type, or group membership.
Step 3: Configure the Cisco Umbrella Integration in ISE
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Navigate to Administration > System > Settings > External RESTful Services
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Add a new RESTful service for Umbrella:
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Name: Cisco Umbrella
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Base URL: https://api.umbrella.com
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Auth Type: API Key
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Enter the API Key and Secret you created earlier
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Save and test the connection
Once validated, Cisco ISE can now push policy-based user identities and session data to Umbrella.
Step 4: Map ISE Attributes to Umbrella Policy Tags
This is a key step that allows dynamic policy enforcement in Umbrella based on ISE session data.
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Go to Cisco Umbrella Dashboard > Identities > Roaming Computers or Networks
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Use Policy Tags to define behavior per user or group
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Within Cisco ISE, create Authorization Profiles that include these policy tags as attributes
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Bind these profiles to Authorization Rules based on conditions like user role, posture status, device type, or location
This ensures the right security policy is applied to the right user at the right time.
Step 5: Test and Validate
Once configured, test the integration by connecting a user or device to the network and verifying:
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Cisco ISE recognizes and authorizes the user or device.
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The correct Umbrella policy is applied based on the assigned policy tag.
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DNS requests are being filtered and logged in Cisco Umbrella.
You can validate this in the Umbrella Activity Logs, where policy-based enforcement should appear in real-time.
Benefits of the Integration
Integrating Cisco ISE with Cisco Umbrella provides multiple advantages:
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Centralized Policy Management: Create access policies once and apply them across all platforms.
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Granular DNS Control: Apply DNS filtering based on dynamic attributes like user role or device compliance.
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Enhanced Visibility: Monitor user activity and DNS requests in one dashboard.
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Zero Trust Framework Alignment: Supports a zero-trust architecture by tying identity and DNS-layer security together.
Conclusion
The seamless integration of Cisco ISE with Cisco Umbrella provides a powerful combination of identity-based access control and DNS-layer protection. By following the steps outlined above, organizations can enhance their network defenses and reduce the risk of malware, phishing, and data exfiltration — all without adding unnecessary complexity.
Whether you're a network administrator, security engineer, or IT manager, mastering this integration can greatly elevate your security posture. And if you're looking to develop deeper technical skills in this space, Cisco ISE Training is a valuable resource to help you get started.
With DNS-based threats evolving every day, integrating Cisco ISE with Cisco Umbrella ensures that your security policies are always one step ahead.
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