We’re happy to announce the provision of Sophos Firewall v20 MR1. It’s our greatest upkeep launch but, rivaling a serious firewall model when it comes to new options.
What’s new
Firewall safety and entry
System entry updates present extra granular management over which companies are accessible on the WAN, enhancing your firewall’s safety posture (see beneath for extra particulars)
New companies added to the Native ACL exceptions record: AD SSO, captive portal, RADIUS SSO, shopper authentication, Chromebook, wi-fi, SMTP, RED, and IPsec
Added flexibility in entry rule exceptions with assist for FQDN hosts, host teams, and MAC addresses
OpenVPN upgraded to v2.6.0
The OpenVPN module in Sophos Firewall has been upgraded to v2.6.0 to boost safety and efficiency for SSL VPN. See the small print beneath for incompatibilities and beneficial options.
SD-WAN and VPN enhancements
Scaled SD-WAN minimal visitors disruption with a 4x enchancment in gateway availability time throughout HA failover and system reboot occasions
Distant entry SSL VPN now supplies an OpenVPN 3.0 shopper for customers to obtain from the VPN portal
IPsec Section-1 IKEv2 assist for GCM and suite-B ciphers, offering higher interoperability and throughput
DHCP Busybox enhancements with a default lease time of 30 seconds to get rid of WAN disconnection points
Zero-touch deployment
True zero-touch deployment of recent firewalls is now attainable by way of Sophos Central with out the necessity for a useful resource on-site with a USB key (extra on methods to use this beneath)
Different enhancements
New generative-AI assistant for serving to along with your firewall administration (see instance beneath)
Localization language auto-detection at login primarily based on browser language choice
A brand new debug file obtain choice
New description area for IP, MAC, FQDN, and repair objects
Improved IPv6 DHCP-PD prefix replace
New CLI choice to bypass system-generated visitors from IPsec site-to-site VPN within the case of “Any” matching standards
New OpenVPN v2.6.0 and StrongSwan v5.9.11 up to date
Vital be aware on SSL VPN compatibility
OpenVPN has been upgraded to 2.6.0 on this launch model. Firewalls upgraded to v20 MR1 received’t set up SSL VPN tunnels with the next purchasers and firewall variations:
SFOS v18.5 and earlier variations (end-of-life): Web site-to-site SSL VPNs received’t be established between SFOS v18.5 or earlier variations and SFOS v20.0 MR1. We suggest that you just plan an improve to v20.0 MR1 for all related firewalls on the identical time. Alternatively, you should use site-to-site IPsec or RED tunnels.
Legacy SSL VPN shopper (end-of-life): Distant entry SSL VPN tunnels received’t be established with the legacy SSL VPN shopper, which is already end-of-life. You should utilize the Sophos Join shopper or third-party purchasers, such because the OpenVPN shopper, or use distant entry IPsec tunnels.
UTM9 OS: Web site-to-site SSL VPNs received’t be established between UTM9 OS and SFOS 2v0.0 MR1. We suggest that you just migrate these gadgets to v20.0 MR1. Alternatively, you should use site-to-site IPsec or RED tunnels.
Full launch notes
How one can get the firmware and documentation
Sophos Firewall OS v20 MR1 is a free improve for all licensed Sophos Firewall prospects and must be utilized to all supported firewall gadgets as quickly as attainable to make sure that you might have all the most recent safety, reliability, and efficiency fixes.
This firmware launch will observe our commonplace replace course of. You may manually obtain SFOS v20 MR1 from Sophos Central and replace anytime. In any other case, it is going to be rolled out to all related gadgets over the approaching weeks. A notification will seem in your native system or Sophos Central administration console when the replace is obtainable, permitting you to schedule the replace at your comfort.
Sophos Firewall OS v20 MR1 is a completely supported improve from all earlier variations of v20, v19.5 and v19.0. Please confer with the Improve Info tab within the launch notes for extra particulars.
Full product documentation is obtainable on-line and throughout the product.
Right here’s a take a look at just a few of those nice new options intimately…
System entry safety
You’ll want to try the most recent system entry enhancements and restrict the companies you make accessible on the WAN to enhance your safety posture:
What’s new:
New companies added : IPsec/RED
ACL exception rule helps new host sorts: FQDN host, FQDN host group, MAC deal with, MAC deal with record
ACL exception guidelines now assist new companies: AD SSO, captive portal, Radius SSO, shopper authentication, Chromebook, wi-fi, SMTP, SNMP, RED, IPsec
System entry administration web page enhancements, with a brand new VPN service group and added information for exception guidelines
New zero-touch firewall deployment from Sophos Central
Now you possibly can pre-define, deploy, after which end the configuration of your distant firewalls with out having to do something on-site apart from plug it in. A USB system is not required!
Right here’s the way it works:
Enter the system serial quantity in Sophos Central
Preconfigure some important settings in Sophos Central, comparable to time zone, LAN, WAN and DHCP settings, and preliminary safety preferences
Deploy the firewall on the distant location by connecting energy and WAN cables – and energy it on. The firewall will robotically hook up with Sophos Central at start-up after which obtain and apply the configuration from Step 2.
Now you can handle the firewall and end the setup in Sophos Central
Seek the advice of the total documentation for particulars.
Generative AI firewall assistant
A brand new generative-AI powered Sophos Assistant is inbuilt that will help you with managing your firewall. You may ask the assistant any plain-language query and the assistant will present directions and hyperlinks to useful sources.
For instance, if you would like assist configuring DNAT, you possibly can merely ask:
And you’ll not solely get a quick set of directions to assist information you, but in addition a complete record of sources to do a deeper dive if wanted.
Computerized language detection at login
Your language will probably be robotically chosen on the login display screen primarily based in your browser preferences.
Total, this launch is a improbable replace to your firewall, and as regular, it’s free for all licensed Sophos Firewall prospects. With Sophos, you proceed to get super added worth with each launch.
Hold your firmware updated
Sophos Firewall integrates an modern hotfix functionality that allows us to push pressing and vital patches out to the firewall “over the air” to handle any new zero-day vulnerabilities or different crucial points that come up. This permits a speedy repair to be utilized with out requiring any downtime usually related to a firmware improve and restart. You get the advantage of vital fixes being utilized instantly with none handbook effort in your half.
Nevertheless, it’s tremendous vital to make sure your firewall firmware is stored updated as non-urgent safety fixes are sometimes built-in into upkeep releases. Since all firmware updates are free for licensed Sophos Firewall prospects, there’s no purpose to not make the most of all the good enhancements in each launch.