-Nine New Sophos XGS Firewall Appliances Feature Boosted Performance with Reduced Energy Consumption
-Sophos Firewall Software Can Now Use Third-party Threat Intelligence Feeds for Extended Protection Against Cyberattacks
News Highlights:
- Sophos has introduced nine new XGS Series desktop firewall appliances tailored for midmarket and smaller businesses.
- The updated Sophos Firewall software now integrates third-party threat intelligence feeds, allowing organizations to customize their firewall security.
Sophos, a global leader in innovative security solutions for combating cyberattacks, has launched nine new XGS Series desktop firewall appliances designed for midmarket and smaller businesses, as well as branch offices of larger organizations.
The new XGS appliances boast a streamlined architecture that provides double the performance of earlier models while consuming 50% less energy. All of the new Sophos XGS appliances come with various high-speed connectivity options, and four models are fanless, making them perfect for noise-sensitive environments.
Digital TimesNG reports that Sophos has also introduced an updated version of its Sophos Firewall software, which offers enhanced protection against cyberattacks, including the capability to integrate third-party threat intelligence feeds.
This feature enables organizations with specific regional or vertical market needs to customize and apply additional information, thereby strengthening their firewall security. The new software improves scalability for distributed networks and facilitates a smooth transition for customers using legacy firewalls to upgrade to the latest Sophos XGS appliances.
By utilizing the enhanced acceleration capabilities of the virtual FastPath in the updated Sophos Firewall software, along with the new streamlined architecture, the Sophos XGS firewall appliances can achieve up to three times the IPsec VPN throughput performance compared to previous models.
“The new Sophos XGS appliances and Sophos Firewall software launches are all about providing users with world-class ‘performance and protection’ at competitive pricing. We’re innovating and advancing how organizations should use firewall technology to defend against persistent, modern-day cyberattacks targeting the midmarket and smaller businesses,” said Dan Cole, senior vice president, Network and Content Security at Sophos.
“This includes designing our firewall software to now also leverage threat intelligence feeds from third-party sources, in addition to Sophos’ native threat intelligence, for faster, real-time response to a broader scope of suspicious activity. The support also gives defenders greater control over their risk profile.”
Specifically, users can now configure Sophos Firewall software to ingest paid and free feeds published by security vendors, Managed Service Providers (MSPs), specific industry consortiums and Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs), or other threat intelligence platforms.
The third-party data augments Sophos’ proprietary threat intelligence, which derives from Sophos X-Ops and includes telemetry from SophosLabs, Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR) and Sophos Extended Detection and Response (XDR) technology.
In conjunction with Sophos Active Threat Response, a feature built into Sophos-managed endpoints and the intelligence feeds, Sophos Firewall software will initiate a synchronized response that automatically walls off potential attacks, giving defenders critical time to assess, respond and remediate.
Additional Sophos Firewall software enhancements include:
- Enhanced performance and scalability: Triple the IPsec VPN performance boost on the new XGS Series desktop appliances, as well as faster authentication burst performance and optimizations to reduce downtime and increase resiliency during failovers for SD-RED tunnels, dynamic routes and Active Directory interactions for distributed enterprise environments
- Streamlined management: Refreshed user experiences; support for Let’s Encrypt certificates; integrated support for Google Workspace authentication; and expanded network object visibility that simplifies firewall management
- Seamless device upgrades: A new configuration backup assistant and port mapping support, backed by free license overlap for Sophos XG firewall customers, that enables added flexibility and easy upgrading from previous hardware generations
“This release of new desktop models as part of the Sophos XGS Series of hardware appliances sets a new high bar for performance and efficiency. The update enhances value at every price-point, with a three-fold increase in IPsec VPN throughput and up to two times better overall performance, all while cutting energy consumption in half,” said Christopher Rodriguez, research director for Security and Trust at IDC.
“Combined with enhancements in protection, scalability and ease-of-use from their latest OS release, Sophos Firewall provides significant value to organizations of all sizes, without raising its prices.”
“Sophos makes firewall deployment, integration and management straightforward,” said Benjamin Schwarzbauer, team lead, Network and Security at Luithle + Luithle, a Sophos partner in Germany. “Its tight integration with the broader Sophos ecosystem allows us to efficiently manage security for our customers. The firewall’s comprehensive features not only strengthen security, but also ensure reliable performance and regulatory compliance. This allows our customers to focus on their business.”
Availability
Sophos’ new XGS desktop firewall appliances and Sophos Firewall software are available exclusively through Sophos’ global channel of partners and Managed Service Providers (MSPs).
Defenders can easily manage the solutions in the cloud-native Sophos Central platform alongside Sophos’ portfolio of endpoint, email and cloud solutions and oversee installations, respond to alerts and track licenses and upcoming renewal dates via a single, intuitive interface.