Sophos has officially announced the release of Sophos Firewall OS v21 following a successful early access program with hundreds of participants. The new version offers enhanced protection, performance, scalability, and resiliency, as well as streamlined management with various quality-of-life improvements. This upgrade is available for all Sophos Firewall customers and makes transitioning to the new 2nd Gen XGS Series Desktop models a seamless process.

One of the key features of Sophos Firewall v21 is the Active Threat Response with third-party threat feeds. This extends support for third-party threat feeds, making it easier to integrate with third-party Security Operations Center (SoC) providers, Managed Service Providers (MSPs), and other threat intelligence sources. Synchronized Security’s automated response to active threats has also been expanded to include third-party threat feeds, allowing for the isolation of compromised devices and prevention of lateral movement.

In terms of scalability, the new version offers added resilience and more seamless transitions for High-Availability (HA) deployments. The IPsec VPN feature has also been improved with enhanced manageability, configuration, and performance, delivering up to a 3x improvement with the new 2nd Gen XGS Desktop models. Authentication and web enhancements have been implemented to improve overall performance and scalability.

Sophos Firewall v21 also introduces seamless upgrades with features such as any-to-any backup and restore for added flexibility when upgrading to the latest XGS Series appliances. Port mapping support has been included to simplify the upgrade process to an appliance with a different port configuration. True zero-touch deployment and configuration from Sophos Central further streamline the upgrade process.

The management aspect of Sophos Firewall v21 has been enhanced with multiple user-experience improvements, including enhancements to the overall look and feel, Control Center cards, VPN configuration, and static route optimization. The inclusion of Let’s Encrypt certificate support and expanded network object visibility adds to the streamlined management capabilities of the new version.

To obtain Sophos Firewall v21, licensed Sophos Firewall customers can access the free upgrade through their Sophos Central account. Firmware updates are now downloaded directly from Sophos Central, following the standard update process. The new v21 firmware will be gradually rolled out to connected devices over the upcoming weeks, with notifications appearing on local devices or the Sophos Central management console to schedule the update at the user’s convenience.

It is important to note that Sophos Firewall v21 is not supported on XG Series devices, which are nearing end-of-life. Upgrading to the XGS Series is recommended, and the process is made easy with available resources for a seamless transition. Overall, Sophos Firewall OS v21 presents a significant upgrade for Sophos Firewall customers, offering advanced features, improved performance, and enhanced security.

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