Cisco Duo Advantage Identity & Access Protection

Advanced Identity Security That Thinks — Managed 24/7 by Small Robot

Stolen credentials are behind the majority of data breaches. Cisco Duo Advantage goes beyond standard multi-factor authentication to deliver AI-powered identity threat detection, risk-based access decisions, and complete visibility across your identity environment — all managed and monitored around the clock by Small Robot's security experts.

Where basic MFA asks "who are you?", Duo Advantage asks "who are you, is this normal behaviour, is this device trusted, and does this access make sense right now?" — and adjusts automatically.

Everything in Duo Essentials, plus:

• Cisco Identity Intelligence — AI-powered visibility across your entire identity infrastructure, detecting threats and anomalies that standard tools miss. Covers cross-identity threat detection and response (ITDR), identity security posture management (ISPM), and protection across multi-vendor identity sources
• Risk-Based Authentication — Dynamically adjusts the level of authentication challenge based on real-time risk signals. Low-risk logins stay frictionless. Suspicious ones get stopped
• Duo Passport — Dramatically reduces how often users are asked to re-authenticate, without compromising security. One smooth login experience across all your apps
• Session Theft Protection — Detects and blocks attempts to hijack authenticated sessions, closing one of the most common post-login attack vectors
• Active Directory Defence — Monitors your Active Directory environment for signs of compromise, lateral movement, and privilege abuse
• Device Health Posture Checks — Verifies that every device meets your security requirements before granting access — operating system, browser, encryption status, and more
• Adaptive Access Policies — Access rules that flex based on context: network, location, device, user behaviour, and risk score
• Strong MFA & Passwordless — Phishing-resistant authentication including Duo Push, FIDO2 security keys, biometrics, and full passwordless options
• Single Sign-On (SSO) — One secure login across all your business applications, including Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace
• Trusted Endpoint Verification — Only recognised, compliant devices get through
• 24/7 Monitoring by Small Robot — Our security team watches for identity-based threats and responds fast, so you don't have to

How it works: After purchasing, Small Robot's team contacts you to deploy and configure Duo Advantage across your environment. All licences are included. A one-time installation fee applies. You'll receive a live dashboard with visibility into your identity security posture and regular reporting.

Requires an Australian ABN. Price is per user on a 12-month subscription. Contact us for teams over 100 users.

FAQ — Cisco Duo Advantage

Q: How is Duo Advantage different from the standard Duo (Essentials) product? A: Duo Essentials covers the fundamentals — strong MFA, passwordless login, SSO, and trusted endpoint verification. Duo Advantage adds AI-powered identity threat detection (ITDR), risk-based authentication that adapts in real time, session theft protection, Active Directory defence, Cisco Identity Intelligence, and Duo Passport for a frictionless login experience. It's the right choice when you need not just to verify identity, but to actively detect and respond to identity-based threats.

Q: What is "risk-based authentication" and how does it work in practice? A: Risk-based authentication evaluates signals like the user's location, the device they're using, the time of day, their normal behaviour patterns, and network context — then decides how much verification to require. A staff member logging in from their usual device on the office network might get through seamlessly. The same account logging in from an overseas IP at 2am gets challenged with additional verification or blocked entirely. It's security that's proportionate to the actual risk.

Q: What is Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR)? A: ITDR is the identity equivalent of endpoint detection and response (EDR). It continuously monitors your identity infrastructure — including your Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace directory — for signs of compromise: unusual privilege escalation, suspicious login patterns, lateral movement between accounts, and other attacker behaviours. When threats are detected, Small Robot's team investigates and responds.

Q: What is session theft and why does it matter? A: Session theft is when an attacker steals an authenticated session token — effectively bypassing MFA entirely by hijacking a login that already happened. It's a growing technique used in business email compromise and cloud account takeovers. Duo Advantage detects and blocks session hijacking attempts, closing this gap that standard MFA leaves open.

Q: What is Active Directory Defence? A: Active Directory (AD) is the directory service most businesses use to manage user accounts and access rights. It's also a prime target for attackers — compromising AD can give attackers control over your entire environment. Duo Advantage monitors AD for indicators of attack, including privilege abuse, suspicious account changes, and attacker reconnaissance activity.

Q: What is Duo Passport and how does it improve the user experience? A: Duo Passport reduces the number of times users are asked to re-authenticate across applications during their working day. Once identity is established at a sufficient trust level, Passport carries that trust across subsequent app logins — so staff aren't constantly interrupted with MFA prompts. Security stays strong; friction drops significantly.

Q: We already have MFA enabled in Microsoft 365. Do we still need this? A: Microsoft's built-in MFA is a baseline, but it doesn't include AI-powered threat detection, risk-based access decisions, session theft protection, Active Directory monitoring, or cross-application identity visibility. Duo Advantage provides a unified, managed identity security layer across your entire environment — not just Microsoft apps — and gives Small Robot's team the visibility to detect and respond to identity threats before they become breaches.

Q: Do we need IT staff to manage this? A: No. Small Robot manages the entire solution — deployment, configuration, monitoring, and response. You get the benefit of an enterprise-grade identity security platform without needing in-house expertise. We'll contact you after purchase to begin onboarding.

Q: Who is Duo Advantage best suited for? A: Businesses that have already implemented basic MFA and want to take the next step; organisations handling sensitive client data or operating in regulated industries; teams that have experienced credential-based incidents or want to get ahead of them; and any business where identity is a serious risk vector — which, increasingly, is all of them.