Sophos introduced
nine new XGS Series desktop firewall appliances for
midmarket and smaller-sized businesses, as well as branch offices of larger
organizations. The new XGS appliances feature a streamlined architecture to
deliver double the performance of previous models, but with 50% lower energy
consumption. All of the new Sophos XGS appliances are available with multiple
high-speed connectivity options, and four models are fanless, making them ideal
for noise-sensitive environments.
Sophos has
also announced updated Sophos Firewall software that provides enhanced protection
against cyberattacks, including the ability to integrate third-party threat
intelligence feeds. This allows organizations with specific regional or vertical market requirements to customize and apply
additional information to strengthen their firewall security. The new software
also enhances distributed network scalability and provides a seamless
transition for customers on legacy firewalls to upgrade to the latest Sophos
XGS appliances. By leveraging the improved acceleration capabilities of the
virtual FastPath in the new Sophos Firewall software, along with the new
streamlined architecture, the new Sophos XGS firewall appliances can deliver up
to three times the performance in IPsec VPN throughput 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."