Sophos Firewall has recently launched its Early Access Program (EAP) for the latest release, bringing in industry-first enhancements and top-requested features for its customers. The update includes several key improvements, such as the integration of Sophos NDR Essentials, Entra ID (Azure AD) single sign-on for remote access VPN, VPN and scalability enhancements, Sophos DNS Protection integration, and various streamlined management and quality-of-life enhancements.
Customers with Xstream Protection can now benefit from Sophos NDR Essentials in the cloud at no additional cost, enhancing network protection with advanced threat detection capabilities. The use of AI Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) analysis allows Sophos NDR Essentials to detect active adversaries using encryption without the need for TLS decryption. Additionally, it can identify advanced domain generation algorithms that bypass normal DNS and web filtering protocols.
Another significant feature introduced in this release is the Entra ID (Azure AD) single sign-on integration for remote access VPN, making it easier for end users to connect using their corporate network credentials through Sophos Connect client and the firewall VPN portal. This integration utilizes cloud-native integration over OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect protocols, providing a seamless user experience supported on Microsoft Windows with Sophos Connect client 2.4 and later versions.
In terms of VPN and scalability enhancements, the update includes improvements such as user interface enhancements, IP lease pool validation across various VPN types to prevent conflicts, strict profile enforcement for successful handshake establishment, increased route-based VPN scalability supporting up to 3,000 tunnels, and enhanced SD-RED scalability allowing support for up to 1,000 site-to-site RED tunnels and 650 SD-RED devices.
The integration of Sophos DNS Protection with Sophos Firewall introduces new control center widgets, troubleshooting insights, and guided tutorials for easy setup. This further enhances the overall network security and management capabilities for customers leveraging DNS Protection services.
The release also includes several quality-of-life enhancements, including resizable table columns, extended free text search capabilities, removal of default firewall rules and configuration, and a new user interface font for improved readability and performance. Moreover, other enhancements like support for larger file sizes in Web Application Firewall, real-time telemetry gathering for security monitoring, DHCP prefix delegation relaxation, and NAT64 support for IPv6 to IPv4 traffic, contribute to a more robust and secure firewall solution.
Customers interested in exploring the full range of features and enhancements in the v21.5 release can refer to the What’s New Guide available for download. The upgrade package and installer for v21.5 can be obtained from the Sophos Firewall v21.5 EAP Registration Page, with support and feedback channels available through the Sophos Firewall Community forums.
Overall, the latest Sophos Firewall release aims to provide customers with enhanced security, performance, and usability features, reflecting the company’s commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions for network protection. The EAP feedback and engagement from customers will play a crucial role in shaping the final release to ensure it meets the highest standards of quality and functionality.