ABOUT THIS EPISODE
As enterprises expand across multiple cloud environments, on-premise data centers, and dynamic AI workloads, traditional perimeter defenses and siloed cloud-native tools are no longer enough to secure the modern network. In this episode, Ashish sits down with Murali Rathinasamy, Senior Director of Product at Cisco, to break down the next evolution of network security: the Hybrid Mesh Firewall. Murali explains why relying solely on cloud-native firewalls can create visibility gaps, and how unified policy orchestration allows security teams to manage enforcement points seamlessly. He shares a real-world case study of how Multicloud Defense is used to eliminate manual route table configurations and achieve zero-downtime, blue-green upgrades. The conversation also tackles micro-segmentation. Murali breaks down why segmentation initiatives usually stall in "analysis paralysis" and provides a practical, agentless roadmap to reduce your attack surface "one bite at a time".
Guest Socials - Murali's Linkedin
Podcast Twitter - @CloudSecPod
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If you are interested in AI Security, you can check out our sister podcast - AI Security Podcast
Questions
(00:00) Introduction(01:40) Murali Rathinasamy's Background and Role at Cisco(02:30) What is a Hybrid Mesh Firewall?(04:30) Bridging the Skills Gap: NetSec vs. CNAPP/CSPM(06:45) Case Study: Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)(09:40) The Limits of Cloud-Native Firewalls in a Multicloud World(13:30) Securing AI Workloads and Managing the Agent Blast Radius(15:40) Why You Need Unified Policy Orchestration Across Firewall Vendors(17:40) Why Micro-segmentation Fails: Overcoming Analysis Paralysis(24:45) How to Implement Micro-segmentation "One Bite at a Time"(31:30) Detecting and Blocking Prompt Injections with Cisco AI Defense(33:30) Where Does the Hybrid Mesh Firewall Fit in the Tech Stack?
Resources spoken about during the interview:
