Sophos, a global leader in network and endpoint security has announced the latest version of its next-generation Sophos XG Firewall that delivers a breakthrough in network traffic visibility. Having more than 100 million users and available in 150 countries including Nigeria and other parts of Africa, Sophos new product provides comprehensive next-generation firewall protection that blocks unknown threats, automatically responds to incidents, and exposes hidden risks.
Using synchronized security to obtain information from the endpoint, XG Firewall can identify, classify and allow the control of all previously unknown applications active on the network, such as those which don’t have signatures or are using generic connections. Synchronized App Control on XG Firewall is an industry first and can reduce the security risks associated with unidentified traffic by allowing administrators to see exactly what is on their network.
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Rob Ayoub, research director, IDC Security Products commented “The latest version of the Sophos XG Firewall represents a significant improvement in network application visibility, especially as it regards to unknown applications. It’s an innovative solution to an industry-wide problem that has been getting increasingly challenging over time.”
Synchronized App Control will automatically associate discovered applications with appropriate categories where possible and administrators can assign unknown apps to categories that will block or prioritize them as desired. Interactive application reporting provides deep insight into daily traffic activity. “In a recent study, IT professionals admitted that about 60 per cent of network traffic is unknown, and the security risks associated with this tops their list of concerns,” commented Dan Schiappa, senior vice president and general manager of Enduser and Network Security Groups at Sophos.
“Sophos can identify this traffic because the endpoint knows exactly what applications are running and it can share this data with the firewall through the Sophos Security Heartbeat. Synchronized App Control has improved visibility and increased IT administrators’ ability to proactively manage network traffic. This new technology is a game-changer for the IT professional who is no longer prepared to accept the gaps and blind spots that stand alone firewall and endpoint solutions have created in their environments.”
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Sophos XG Firewall is available for on-premise and cloud deployment, on all the major virtualization platforms as well as through the Microsoft Azure marketplace. Both Sophos Endpoint Protection and the next-generation anti-ransomware solution Intercept X will provide the XG Firewall with the Synchronized Security data required for this new level of traffic identification. In addition, Sophos has introduced new XG Series hardware appliances that provide a modular system for connectivity with a wide variety of integrated connectivity and FleXi Port modules.
Sophos is a leader in next-generation endpoint and network security, and as the pioneer of synchronized security develops its innovative portfolio of endpoint, network, encryption, web, email and mobile security solutions to work better together. More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos solutions as the best protection against sophisticated threats and data loss. Sophos products are exclusively available through a global channel of more than 26,000 registered partners.
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