Sophos XG Firewall Delivers a Breakthrough in Network Visibility with Synchronized App Control

SINGAPORE, Oct. 25, 2017 – Sophos (LSE: SOPH), a global leader in network and
endpoint security, today announced the latest version of
its next-generation Sophos XG
Firewall that delivers a breakthrough in network traffic
visibility. 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 HTTP or HTTPS 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.

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 in 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 percent 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 the 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.”

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.  The addition of two
fail-safe bypass port pairs on-board every 1U appliance and an optional bypass
FleXi Port module for all 1U and 2U XG Series models, plus optional Power over
Ethernet (PoE) modules make it easy to enable Synchronized Security in any
environment.

 “Our clients appreciate the streamlined management and simplified
user interface of the XG Firewall. Deployment flexibility has made it easy to
improve security without the complication of replacing current infrastructure,”
commented Dan Russell, CIO at Pine Cove Consulting, a certified Sophos Partner
“The XG Firewall can be installed inline or in ‘discover mode’ with an existing
firewall. Additionally, Sophos Intercept X can be installed on the endpoint
next to any existing endpoint protection, adding next-generation threat
protection into any traditional environment. The new levels of visibility means
that we no longer have to wait for an application signature to become available
to see actual network traffic running through the firewall.  Visibility
into every network application and the ability to categorize them and take
immediate action is going to help our customers and us tremendously.”

Sophos is named as a Leader in Gartner, Inc.’s June 20, 2017, “Magic Quadrant
for Unified Threat Management (SMB Multifunction Firewalls),” and as a Visionary in Gartner, Inc.’s July 10, 2017, “Magic Quadrant for Enterprise
Network Firewalls.” In June this year, NSS Labsrated Sophos XG
Firewall as one of the best performing firewalls in the industry
in its Next Generation
Firewall Group Test Report[1]. The XG Firewall was “Recommended” as one of the top three
products for security effectiveness.

Pricing is available from authorized Sophos partners worldwide. For
additional information on Sophos next-generation firewall solutions, please
visit https://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/next-gen-firewall.aspx.