Cybersecurity as a Service for AWS

Sophos Heartbeat and the Sophos AI-driven ransomware protection for Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service are significant benefits. These are good add-ons for Sophos. The company performs well with Zero Trust Network Access, zero-day attack protection, and adaptive attack protection.

Automated Threat Response is quite beneficial in real time for Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service. It also stops the active threat response, which we call ATR. This is in sync with Sophos Managed Detection and Response, which is MDR. There is another extension feature called Security Heartbeat.

The main key feature of Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service is Sophos Heartbeat. The deep visibility provided by Sophos refers to their comprehensive real-time data collection and correlation across the organization's entire footprint, which includes Sophos EDR and Sophos Heartbeat features that enable central analysis and monitoring. This is quite easy, and Sophos MDR is also part of it, including Network Detection and Response.

In terms of improvement, Sophos testing after implementation is quite difficult. Sometimes it has software errors. When I put some policy on a network, it did not apply, and I had to check why this was happening. Sometimes this occurs because the software is not allowing it, or I could say the software is not supporting a specific policy implementation. Then sometimes I have to restart Sophos. I am talking in terms of a firewall.

There is sometimes a delay in the technical support of Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service, but I think nine out of ten is quite good from their end.

I started using Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service in 2020, and it has been three years.

There is sometimes a delay in the technical support of Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service, but I think nine out of ten is quite good from their end.

Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service is mostly user-friendly with a GUI. I think it was not complex, and it was quite easy to pursue Sophos integration with the system.

I think it depends on the complexity and the scope of work with Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service. If I am working on a firewall and I just have to route the internet and basic policies, then it could take hours. If I have to implement some complex topology, then it could take days. The test is quite complex.

The other product I asked about is Secureworks Taegis XDR, a network and detection response tool.

Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service is a quite decent product for a basic level or initial level assessment. I think it is not more appropriate, but it is good. My overall rating for this product is 7.5.

I want to discuss the experience with Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service products. I have familiarity with the service in general, but I do not have specific experience with Sophos.

Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service on endpoint security is a standalone solution installed on the PC that can be left to customers to manage themselves. When it comes to as a service, this is something different where we subscribe to the service from the provider and then let them handle the administration of the security on the customer's end.

We do not have that service ourselves, but we resell and provide bundled solutions. This type of software allows customers with IT teams to handle the deployment themselves. Endpoint security is not complicated when it comes to deployment, and the IT team can do it on their own. The issue is that I am mentioning the need for more education because customers are using the solution, but I do not think they are maximizing the use or the functionalities of the solution.

Last week when we talked about Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service, I did not mention whether I was using it. However, I have a background with as a service solutions, but on a different solution.

The R&D team is very good in doing their task and continuously conducting research. I cannot comment on what could be added in future updates of Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service that they need to do. However, it is more about engagement with the customer. There are AIs and self-paced trainings available, but delivering it to the customers and forcing the customers to learn more about the product is something that needs to be addressed through customer engagement. This is not on Sophos side, because a lot of improvements have been done with your solution, so I cannot comment more about it.

The customer is looking at price perspective, but what is more important is the support. The ease of communicating with the technical support is number one. It is all about the support, and not only engaging support on some issues or concerns, but also providing education to the customers is important. Providing ways such as demo labs and online self-paced training that can be communicated by the distributor on how to access them and how to utilize and leverage all these things so that the information is properly distributed to our customers and to the partners is essential.

When I told you that I want to talk about it, it was because I want to know more about discussing Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service that Sophos is providing.

When it comes to the return on investment with the vulnerability solution, it is nice to have in the organization. However, when it comes to compliance, a third-party assessor is required. If I buy or if I am an organization who subscribes to or buys a solution like a vulnerability assessment tool, this is just a tool for the organization. It is better to buy it, but I do not think it can be used to submit to some compliance because a third-party assessor for vulnerability and penetration testing is needed. Huge organizations can have that so they have their own assessment on their own, but services to other or third parties must be done to comply with the requirement or the regulation for security.

Most of our customers are very cautious about the data that they are keeping, so they prefer buying Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service directly from Sophos or third-party vendors to building their infrastructure on their premises.

This is based on experience with not so huge customers. Our distributor is very supportive, and from their end, if we do not know how to escalate the problem to the support, they extend their help by doing so for us. If they can solve it on their own, then they help solve it. Support comes not only on problems in terms of security, but also on other matters such as concerns, questions, or inquiries about the license and inquiries about the best way to deploy it. The perspective comes from our distributor, and I would rate the overall review as an eight.

Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service is an on-premise solution. This is the first implementation of Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service with Citrix, and otherwise we are going with the Sophos XDR solution instead of a third party, as we are currently using Trend Micro, which is not working properly with Sophos.

The thin client is not compatible with the Sophos firewall, and we found the fault in the Sophos solution. They have now released a light version of the XDR, and that type of activity is what we are coordinating in the backend.

The best feature of Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service is the XDR, along with remote management, which is particularly beneficial for small and medium environments.

We and our customers use the automated threat response feature, which is included but requires a license. For example, one of the banks using XDR provided by Sophos is very happy, and we conduct remote sessions with XDR, ensuring our involvement is minimal, leading to customer satisfaction.

I assess the value of deep visibility into network activities provided by Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service as good enough, especially regarding firewall and wireless aspects, with new switching features introduced that are acceptable.

There are a lot of technical issues with the implementation of Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service, particularly because we are currently implementing the XG series, where Citrix is the endpoint, leading to a lot of confusion. The XDR client is not working, so we are taking time for research and development, and they are providing us with whatever solutions from the company, even a lighter version of the XDR for this particular Citrix thin client.

Product-wise, improvements need to be made in Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service, particularly because they do not have a testing lab for the implemented customer environments. We have implemented a large environment where a number of problems occur, and they are unable to provide on-the-spot solutions, often taking five to ten days to set up a lab at the customer's premises to identify solutions.

I have been working with Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service since 1994, almost 30 years, starting with Astaro, which is the original security company that Sophos has taken over, and nowadays Sophos is the product.

I do not face many challenges, but we did encounter ransomware attacks at two to three locations, and Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service protected us immediately, within three to four seconds, providing alerts about ransomware threats, leading to automatic disconnections when necessary.

Cloud-based operation is nowadays required for centralized management since all servers and resources are being kept in the cloud, and future developments must trend towards cloud solutions.

However, we are not promoting cloud solutions to our customers, as our business remains focused on on-premise setups.

I rate the technical support of Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service an eight compared to Juniper, also an eight, but primarily due to timing issues. They are technically strong, but their resources are problematic, and timing is also an issue as nowadays people require solutions on-demand.

I am also a partner with Juniper, Cisco, and everything, because I am a system integrator, so I have to maintain relationships with all OEMs.

There is definitely a return on investment when using Sophos products; it all comes down to how deployment is managed, as policy is crucial. Initiating a deny everything approach before gradually allowing access is the best way to ensure security.

The pricing of Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service is approximately 60 percent that of Cisco, as Cisco requires a greater number of licenses to meet its requirements, while Sophos and Juniper, along with Fortinet, offer lower prices. In negotiations, Fortinet and Sophos have almost equal prices, allowing for competitiveness in order acquisition at the negotiation table, leading to price reductions.

This is the first implementation of Sophos Cybersecurity as a Service with Citrix, and otherwise we are going with the Sophos XDR solution instead of a third party, as we are currently using Trend Micro, which is not working properly with Sophos. The thin client is not compatible with the Sophos firewall, and we found the fault in the Sophos solution. They have now released a light version of the XDR, and that type of activity is what we are coordinating in the backend.

I do not fully understand the metric used to measure the effectiveness of Sophos threat intelligence capabilities. However, we do have one scheme, which involves dedicating manpower for customer support. For larger customers, we assign dedicated personnel who understand the ins and outs of their needs, which helps streamline processes without needing repeated explanations.