Using application programming interfaces or APIs allow us to be able to manage
in detail how we maintain and secure our software as a service platform within
Cisco.
Now we use APIs to help us reduce the amount of human errors and run automated
tasks to kind of help us with the workflow of being an administrator,
especially when dealing with people and data.
And what I have up on the screen right now is an example from Cisco DevNet of WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
And what I have up on the screen right now is an example from Cisco DevNet of
an API script that is used to be able to create new users inside of Cisco Sec
ure Network Analytics.
So I'm trying to keep with the theme of what's going on through our skill here.
Now there's a lot in this particular API that has not been modified for a
specific organization.
This is one of those scripts that's demonstrated as an example. And I'm going
to be putting the link for this right below as well.
But you can kind of get the idea of going through here when you're dealing with
your own API and some of the ideas of how to actually go through and automate WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
your own API and some of the ideas of how to actually go through and automate
some of these tasks.
Now I also do want to point out that we want to make sure that the username and
password is encrypted and dealt with in a secure manner.
And the reason I bring this up is because within Cisco we use OAuth 2.0 in
order to be able to access those APIs and pass credentials back and forth in
tokens or keys.
See we don't really use username and password to be sent over the wire and open WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
See we don't really use username and password to be sent over the wire and open
ourselves up to the possibility of those credentials being popped.
Now in the easiest way possible for me, it's thinking of logging into social
media or another site using your Gmail login.
Let's say you go to Twitter and it says you want to click on your login as your
Google account.
It's not going to send the whole credential over the username password and all
that other stuff. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
It's going to create a key or a token to be sent from point A to point B saying
that this particular user is using or going to use these credentials in order
to be able to log into this site or service.
And that better protects not only the user but also the organization that's
storing those credentials and the data that's authenticated to be able to go
view.
And the same thing works within Cisco API as well where OAuth 2 token is sent WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
And the same thing works within Cisco API as well where OAuth 2 token is sent
back and forth between the actual authentication server or services and to the
actual API interface that's being used to develop whatever scripts that we're
deemed to do inside of our platform for automation or security task.
Based on our organization's setup and our policies and also best practices, we
should probably be making sure that all that is wrapped inside of SSL or TLS as
well because again we don't want everything being sent out in plaintext. WEBVTT X-TIMESTAMP-MAP=LOCAL:00:00:00.000,MPEGTS:900000
well because again we don't want everything being sent out in plaintext.
And a lot of this information that we're passing back and forth is going to be
critical to the organization that we're working for.