Sophos Releases UTM 9 With Eye Towards Endpoint, Gateway Security

Sophos today announced the availability of Sophos UTM 9 with a focus on improving endpoint and endpoint security for its customers.

Based on technology the company acquired when it purchased Astaro last year, Sophos said their new unified threat management (UTM) appliance is aimed at providing comprehensive protection. Using the company’s LiveConnect cloud service, Sophos UTM 9 can use the cloud to secure and monitor staff wherever they are.

The company has also included a HTML5 VPN portal that enables users to connect to internal resources, giving them access through applications such as VNC, remote desktop and more. Wireless hotspot support manages Internet access for guests and visitors with customizable wireless hotspots.

In addition, the product uses the Sophos Anti-Virus Engine to scan email and Web traffic and gets a boost in the malware fight through a second commercial engine from Avira.

“In the year since we acquired Astaro, we’ve been able to bring to market an integrated industry-first solution that’s game-changing for Sophos partners and easy to use for customers,” said John Shaw, vice president, product management at Sophos, in a statement. “This solution was conceived not only by our great integrated development team, but also by our passionate and active users who provided countless feature recommendations in our forums. And thanks to our users, we’re excited about our roadmap.”