Company says Sophos Firewall v23 update and new XGS hardware appliances deliver up to 4X higher protected throughput and advanced AI governance controls.
Sophos has announced a series of network security updates, centered on the launch of Sophos Firewall v23, new XGS series hardware, and a standalone Network Detection and Response (NDR) offering. According to the company, these releases are designed to address the escalating performance and security demands of AI-driven network environments.
The updates integrate with Sophos Fusion, the brand’s unified cybersecurity defense system, which allows control points across the network to share threat intelligence in real time and execute coordinated responses.
“AI is raising the stakes for the network. Organizations need to support more encrypted traffic, applications, and automated activity while defending against attacks that can move faster and exploit gaps at greater scale,” said Daniel Cole, Senior Vice President of Product Management at Sophos. “This launch helps organizations keep pace with growing network demands while turning network visibility and intelligence into faster, coordinated defense.”
Sophos Firewall v23 Highlights
Sophos Firewall v23 introduces integration with Sophos AI Defense, providing network-level visibility and policy enforcement for AI services. This capability allows administrators to sanction trusted generative AI tools while proactively blocking unapproved services.
The update also features a new AI Assistant designed to help administrators understand firewall configurations and draft rules, alongside a modern REST API to support automation for IT teams and managed service providers.
To strengthen resilience, the v23 release includes hardware-aware high availability that delivers 13X faster failover detection, reducing the detection window to 300 milliseconds. Additional upgrades include DNS over HTTPS, DNSSEC, and enhanced visibility into applied security updates.
New XGS Hardware and Standalone NDR
Sophos introduced four new 1U hardware appliances: the XGS 2380, XGS 3380, XGS 4580, and XGS 5580. The company stated these models deliver up to 4X higher protected throughput than earlier 1U models, offering up to 59 Gbps of threat protection throughput, 16 Gbps TLS inspection throughput, and port speeds up to 25 Gbps on the XGS 3380 and above.
The brand also launched a new standalone Sophos NDR offering that combines behavioral detection with deep packet inspection and IDS/IPS capabilities. Operating in an Active Inline mode, the system can drop identified malicious packets before they reach their destination. A dedicated NDR 5500 hardware appliance will also be introduced.
Availability
Sophos Firewall v23, the new XGS hardware models, and a new bundled Xstream Plus licensing option are generally available now. The standalone Sophos NDR will be generally available starting November 10.
Disclaimer: This article is based on the official announcement by Sophos and has been edited for length and readability. Product details and capability claims are based on information provided by the company.
