Security: Secure Sensitive Data Management
SSD Rules
Cisco 350, 350X and 550X Series Managed Switches, Firmware Release 2.4, ver 0.4 367
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SSD Rules and User Authentication 
SSD grants SSD permission only to authenticated and authorized users and according to the 
SSD rules. A device depends on its user authentication process to authenticate and authorize 
management access. To protect a device and its data including sensitive data and SSD 
configurations from unauthorized access, it is recommended that the user authentication 
process on a device is secured. To secure the user authentication process, you can use the local 
authentication database, as well as secure the communication through external authentication 
servers, such as a RADIUS server. The configuration of the secure communication to the 
external authentication servers are sensitive data and are protected under SSD. 
NOTE The user credential in the local authenticated database is already protected by a non SSD related 
mechanism
If a user from a channel issues an action that uses an alternate channel, the device applies the 
read permission and default read mode from the SSD rule that match the user credential and 
the alternate channel. For example, if a user logs in via a secure channel and starts a TFTP 
upload session, the SSD read permission of the user on the insecure channel (TFTP) is applied 
Default SSD Rules
The device has the following factory default rules: 
The default rules can be modified, but they cannot be deleted. If the SSD default rules have 
been changed, they can be restored. 
Rule Key  Rule Action 
User  Channel  Read Permission  Default Read Mode 
Level 15  Secure XML 
SNMP 
Plaintext Only  Plaintext 
Level 15  Secure  Both  Encrypted 
Level 15  Insecure  Both  Encrypted 
All Insecure XML 
SNMP 
Exclude Exclude 
All Secure  Encrypted Only Encrypted 
All Insecure  Encrypted Only Encrypted