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20

Jan

Sophos ZTNA has received a couple of important updates to improve deployment ease and flexibility. These changes are part of updates to Sophos Central and don’t require any updates to your gateways or clients.

Let’s Encrypt certificates

Sophos ZTNA now adds Let’s Encrypt certificate support for your gateways.

As you probably know, Let’s Encrypt is a non-profit open certificate authority run by the Internet Research Group (ISRG) that provides X.509 certificates for TLS encryption at no charge.

Let’s Encrypt makes certificates free and easy but comes with the inconvenience of only being valid for 90 days. This means they require more frequent maintenance than other certificates, which often have a duration of 12, 24, or 36 months.

Fortunately, Sophos ZTNA helps overcome this issue with support for auto-renewal 30 days prior to expiry.

You can take advantage of this with your existing gateways anytime, regardless of your deployment mode (cloud or on-premises).

Watch the demo video.

Added Sophos Central regions

Sophos ZTNA central management is now supported beyond the standard US and EU regions, adding five new regions:  Australia, Brazil, India, Japan, and Canada.

If you currently manage your Sophos Firewall and/or Endpoints in one of these regions you can now easily add Sophos ZTNA to your account.

Get started with ZTNA for free

If you’re not already using Sophos ZTNA, you can get started for free. There’s a free trial available via Sophos Central, and if you’re already a Sophos Firewall customer, you can get three free one-year licenses and take advantage of the ZTNA gateway integrated into your firewall.

Check out the Deployment Checklist for other considerations when deploying ZTNA and the latest online documentation.

Πηγή: Sophos

17

Jan

You can protect your IP address by hiding it and masking your location to prevent cybercriminals from impersonating or tracking you. An IP address, also called an Internet Protocol address, is a series of unique numbers that identifies your device on the internet or the network it’s connected to. Your IP address allows information to be sent across a network and distinguishes your device from others on the internet. Since your IP address reveals identifying information about you, it is important to protect it because cybercriminals can use it to track you or target you with scams.

Continue reading to learn what may happen if you don’t protect your IP address and how to hide it from people with bad intentions.

What happens if you don’t protect your IP address?

If you don’t protect your IP address, cybercriminals can do the following:

  • Track your location: Someone with your IP address can determine your geographical location, narrowing it down to your state, city or even ZIP code. Even though your IP address will not reveal your exact location, cybercriminals can use the information it provides to conduct further research. They may publish the information they find about you online in a process called doxxing.
  • Exploit your IP address: Using your IP address, a cybercriminal can download illegal content, including pirated games or inappropriate videos. If that illegal activity is traced to your IP address, it could be difficult to prove that you were not responsible for those actions.
  • Target your network: Failing to protect your IP address can also lead to your home WiFi network being hacked. For example, if the IP address of your computer is compromised, a cybercriminal may be able to find other devices connected to your same home WiFi network and attempt to hack them.

How to hide your IP address from cybercriminals

The best way to protect your IP address from falling into cybercriminals’ hands is to hide your device’s private IP address and mask your location. You can hide your device’s IP address by using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), a proxy server, the Tor web browser or your phone’s mobile data.

Use a Virtual Private Network (VPN)

Virtual Private Network (VPN) protects your internet connection, online privacy and IP address by encrypting your connection. VPNs mask your IP address and allow you to use public WiFi without jeopardizing your privacy. Although there are many benefits to using a VPN, most charge a subscription fee, and some websites may block access when you use a VPN.

Use a proxy server

A proxy server is an in-between server so you can access online resources with enhanced privacy and security. Using a proxy server is an effective way to hide your IP address from cybercriminals because it retrieves data from the internet without exposing your identity to any websites you visit. Unlike most VPNs, proxy servers are generally free to use. If you need to access a website and want your IP address concealed, a proxy server is often a more convenient option.

Use the Tor browser

Even if your default web browser is Chrome or Safari, you can use the Tor browser specifically when you want to hide your IP address. Tor is a unique web browser that lets you browse the internet anonymously by scrambling data about your online activity, making it very challenging for anyone to track your browsing. The browser hides your IP address by routing your internet traffic through different nodes. However, because this process requires significant resources, using Tor may slow your internet connection, and some websites you attempt to visit may be blocked.

Connect to your phone’s mobile data

By turning off WiFi on your phone and relying on mobile data, you make your IP address much more challenging for cybercriminals to track because your IP address will change as you move. Even though connecting to your phone’s mobile data does not completely hide your IP address, it will change frequently, making your location harder to detect since you are not connected to a set WiFi network.

Should I be worried if someone has my IP address?

You don’t need to panic if someone has your IP address, but you should take the necessary steps to change it to maintain your privacy. Changing your IP address is as simple as unplugging your WiFi router for several minutes and then plugging it back in. When you reconnect your device to the router, it will have a refreshed IP address, making it easier to protect your identity from anyone with malicious intent.

Keep your IP address protected

Because your IP address can reveal private information about you, you should stay safe by hiding your device’s IP address and masking your location. Using a VPN, proxy server or Tor browser helps prevent your online activity from being tracked and keeps your IP address out of the wrong hands.

Source: Keeper Security

 

13

Jan

G2, a major technology user review platform, has just released its Winter 2025 Reports, and Sophos ranks as the #1 overall Firewall, MDR, and EDR solution.

Sophos is – once again – the only vendor named a Leader across the G2 Overall Grid® Reports for Endpoint Protection SuitesEndpoint Detection and Response (EDR)Extended Detection and Response (XDR)Firewall Software, and Managed Detection and Response (MDR). Based on user feedback, Sophos was ranked the #1 solution in 36 individual reports spanning the Antivirus, EDR, Endpoint Protection Suites, XDR, Firewall, and MDR markets.

It’s written in the stars

Customer review platforms like G2 are crucial in empowering buyers, holding businesses accountable, and driving market innovation and competition. These platforms allow customers to leave honest, unfiltered feedback about products and services, providing potential buyers access to actual user experiences rather than just marketing and messaging. The transparency and visibility of reviews encourage companies to improve their products and customer experiences continuously.

Managed Detection and Response

Sophos MDR enables more than 26,000 customers to maximize the value of their cybersecurity investments. In addition to the #1 overall ranking among MDR solutions, Sophos MDR is also rated the top solution in seven additional report segments for the category, including the Overall, Enterprise, and Mid-Market Grids, as well as earning the Best Results and Best Usability distinctions for the Enterprise and Mid-Market segments.

Endpoint Detection and Response/Extended Detection and Response

Sophos EDR/XDR was named a Leader across five different segments in the Winter 2025 Reports, including the Overall, Enterprise, Mid-Market, and Small Business Grids, as well as an Overall Momentum Leader.

Firewall

In addition to being named the #1 Overall Firewall solution, Sophos Firewall was also rated as the #1 firewall solution by Mid-Market and Enterprise users. All 4 user segments (Overall, Small Business, Mid-Market, and Enterprise) named Sophos Firewall a Leader in their respective G2 Grid Reports.

Independent Third-party Validation

The accolades from the G2 Winter 2025 Reports come off the heels of another major user review-based report in Gartner’s 2024 Voice of the Customer for Managed Detection and Response, where Sophos was the highest rated Customers’ Choice vendor to go along with the most user reviews featured in the report.

With this latest distinction, Sophos was the only cybersecurity vendor named a Customers’ Choice across the Endpoint Protection Platforms, Network Firewalls, and MDR markets in 2024 on Gartner Peer Insights – a testament to Sophos’ capabilities of providing end-to-end security for organizations of all sizes.

Furthermore, it’s not just our customers raving about Sophos protection. MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations, one of the world’s most respected independent security tests, just released their 2024 MITRE ATT&CK® Evaluations: EnterpriseSophos XDR detected 100% of the adversary behaviors in attack scenarios targeting Windows and Linux platforms, mimicking malware strains from ruthless ransomware-as-a-service gangs LockBit and CL0P. All of Sophos’ responses to these ransomware attack scenarios were marked “technique” – the highest possible rating that denotes who, what, when, where, why and how attacks were carried out.

What Sophos customers are saying

“Sophos MDR: 360 degree MDR solution for endpoint security” said a user in the Enterprise segment

“Sophos MDR helps us sleep at night knowing our environment is monitored 24/7” said a user in the Mid-Market segment

“Sophos Firewall is a robust and user-friendly security solution that provides comprehensive protection through advanced threat detection, deep packet inspection, and synchronized security with other Sophos products” said a Head of IT in the Mid-Market segment

“Sophos Firewall automatically identifies and blocks active threats, prevents the lateral movement of attacks, and delivers immediate insights into compromised devices, users and application” said a user in the Small Business segment

“What stands out the most is how effortlessly Sophos Firewall streamlines security tasks, allowing users to focus on protecting their networks without getting bogged down in complex configurations” said a user in the Mid-Market segment

“We can rest easy knowing that Sophos Intercept X is continuously guarding our endpoints from ransomware assaults, which are the kind of thing that keep IT administrators up at night” said a SOC Analyst in the Mid-Market segment

Elevate your cyber defenses with Sophos

As the G2 ratings illustrate, Sophos provides unparalleled breadth and depth of protection. Our world-leading endpoint, network, email, cloud, and security operations solutions defend over 600,000 organizations from advanced cyberthreats, including ransomware.

For more information on our services and products, speak to your Sophos partner or representative and visit our website.

Source: Sophos

9

Jan

The best way to adjust your Privileged Access Management (PAM) strategy for growth is to choose a cloud-based PAM solution that scales with your organization. You may face many challenges when adjusting your PAM strategy as your organization grows, including more complex infrastructure, a higher number of login credentials to manage and increased security risks, so you need to have a flexible PAM solution.

Continue reading to learn more about the challenges your organization may face when adjusting its PAM strategy and why you should choose a cloud-based PAM solution that grows with you.

Challenges in adjusting your PAM strategy as you grow

As your organization grows, your PAM strategy must scale and evolve to address increased complexity, manage access, balance security with usability, meet compliance requirements and overcome scalability issues with your current PAM solution, if you have one. However, for organizations that aren’t prepared, these challenges can become significant obstacles to maintaining a secure and efficient infrastructure.

Infrastructure becomes more complex

As your organization grows, your infrastructure becomes more complex because you may have an increased number of users, devices and resources across different regions. You may need to shift to cloud services or combine on-premises with cloud solutions, which can bring its own set of challenges.

The more employees your organization hires, the more endpoint devices your IT team will need to manage and secure. Having diverse endpoints, such as laptops, tablets, phones and other Internet of Things (IoT) devices, makes it difficult for your IT team to manage and track access across all platforms and devices. In addition to an influx of new employees, your organization will likely need to grant new users privileged access to sensitive data. With each new privileged account, there is a greater need to ensure these accounts are secure across all systems.

Credential management

When you hire more employees, managing credentials becomes more challenging, especially for users who require privileged access, such as those in key roles like IT or HR. As your organization expands, it’s not just about adding accounts but about managing who needs access to what and when. It’s important to have a PAM strategy in place that allows you to track who has privileged access, both permanently and temporarily. With a strong system in place that follows the Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP), you can more easily audit privileged accounts and determine whether they still require the same access as they once did.

Balancing security with usability

Your organization must keep its systems secure and usable to ensure employees can do their jobs productively. However, this can be challenging with more employees, since they have varied access needs. Overly strict security can hinder productivity, while lenient controls can increase the risk of breaches. Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) ensures that each employee can access only the sensitive data they need to perform their job within your organization. By assigning access based on roles, RBAC helps control who can access specific data and limits which employees can access certain sensitive systems without preventing them from accessing the systems and data they need to do their jobs. Single Sign-On (SSO), on the other hand, enables employees to log in once and gain access to all authorized systems without needing to log in separately each time. This not only improves security by reducing the need to manage multiple sets of credentials but also improves productivity by saving employees time and streamlining their access to necessary resources. As you adjust your PAM strategy, ensure that your PAM solution supports both RBAC and SSO.

Overcoming scalability issues with your current PAM solution

The PAM solution you currently use may work well for a smaller team or fewer systems, but as your organization continues to grow, it may fail to scale with you. Your organization should adopt a cloud-based PAM solution that can grow with you and won’t sacrifice security or performance while adapting to more privileged users, systems, platforms and data.

Keeping up with compliance requirements

As your organization expands into new regions or countries, it will face new challenges regarding regulatory and compliance requirements. Since each jurisdiction has its own requirements for securing privileged data, you must ensure your organization complies with a variety of regulations based on location.

Some common compliance requirements that vary based on industry and location include:

    • General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): Applies to organizations that sell to customers located in the European Union.
    • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA): Applies to the healthcare industry in the United States.
    • Service Organization Control Type 2 (SOC 2): A voluntary compliance framework primarily relevant to companies that sell cloud-based products and services, emphasizing data security, availability, processing integrity, privacy and confidentiality.

These frameworks require your organization to enforce strict controls over who can access sensitive data. Ensuring that your PAM solution scales with your organization’s growth and provides a centralized dashboard for managing and auditing privileged access is needed for meeting compliance requirements and minimizing risks.

Choose a cloud-based PAM solution that grows with you

To address the growing pains that your organization may face, you need to choose a cloud-based PAM solution that grows with you, like KeeperPAM®: a cloud-based, zero-trust and zero-knowledge security solution.

KeeperPAM is highly scalable, making it the best solution for growing organizations. As your organization adds new users or departments, IT administrators can quickly provision new accounts with RBAC, ensuring that employees only have access to the data and systems they need. Additionally, features like Just-In-Time (JIT) access make it seamless to grant temporary access only when needed and automatically revoke that access once a task is complete. As you continue to add to your infrastructure and tech stack, Keeper has hundreds of integrations that allow teams such as security and DevOps to continue using their preferred solutions securely.

For a growing organization, KeeperPAM’s scalability helps you maintain high security standards while supporting increased access demands. Users can access their Keeper Vaults from anywhere, providing a better experience across locations and devices, ensuring your PAM solution grows with your business needs.

Future-proof your PAM strategy with KeeperPAM

Prepare for the future of your growing organization by switching to a scalable PAM solution like KeeperPAM. By future-proofing your PAM strategy with KeeperPAM, you can overcome the challenges most organizations face when adjusting their PAM strategies, including complex infrastructure, managing more privileged accounts, balancing security with usability and overcoming scalability issues.

Request a demo of KeeperPAM today and enhance your PAM strategy.

Source: Keeper

6

Jan

Most password managers on the market require only the user’s master password to access their password vault. If the master password is compromised, a cybercriminal could use it to log in to the user’s account from any device. This would mean that the cybercriminal would have access to all of that user’s saved passwords.

In contrast, Keeper requires device-level approval. Even if a cybercriminal has your master password, they would first need to have physical access to one of your approved devices to log in. This adds an extra layer of security against cyber threats like password spraying or data breaches on the dark web.

Continue reading to learn how Keeper’s device-level approval feature makes it much harder for attackers to gain unauthorized access to your Keeper account.

What is device-level approval in Keeper?

In Keeper Password Manager, device-level approval means that each new device attempting to access a Keeper Vault must be explicitly approved before gaining access. This device approval process occurs before an attempt to use a master password. In Keeper’s security architecture, the backend system does not allow an attempt to log in without first approving a device. This means that the existence of an account is never confirmed or denied by the application until a user proves their identity. This also means that the attacker would not know if a master password is correct.

When a user attempts to access their Keeper Vault from a new device, that device needs to be approved by one of the following:

  • The account owner
  • An administrator (in enterprise environments)
  • Through an existing trusted device

Each new device receives a unique device ID, preventing unauthorized devices from accessing a user’s vault even if the login credentials have been compromised. This provides an additional layer of security that goes beyond Two-Factor Authentication (2FA).

How device-level approval protects against password stuffing attacks

Device-level approval requires both the user’s password and an authorized device to access their vault. Even if a cybercriminal manages to steal a user’s master password, they still wouldn’t be able to access the vault, as the cybercriminal’s device is not approved. This prevents common password attacks, such as password stuffing and brute force attempts, from succeeding.

When data is in transit, Keeper’s encryption model also stops other types of cyber attacks, like Man-in-the-Middle (MITM) attacks, because each approved device is double-encrypting traffic on top of Transport Layer Security (TLS). Cybercriminals cannot simply intercept and decode traffic between your device and Keeper’s servers. Even if they capture the data, it’s useless without the device-specific keys.

The device approval system further helps protect against social engineering attacks. Even if someone convinces you to reveal your password through phishing, they won’t be able to use it because none of their devices are approved.

How Keeper differs from other password managers

Device authorization model

Unlike most other password managers that typically rely on 2FA without device-specific approval, Keeper uses strict device-level approval. This requires that each new device be explicitly authorized, making Keeper more secure against unauthorized device access.

Encryption architecture

Keeper uses a zero-knowledge security architecture with device-level keys. Each device has its own encryption key in addition to the master password. This differentiates Keeper from most competitors, which use only a single master password.

Enterprise controls

Keeper offers more granular device management for organizations with multiple users and multiple devices. Administrators can approve or reject specific devices and enforce device-type restrictions (e.g., only company-issued devices). Most password management competitors focus more on user-level rather than device-level controls.

Get peace of mind over your passwords with Keeper

Keeper’s unique security architecture, which uses device-level approval and zero-knowledge encryption, is superior to other password managers. By requiring both the correct password and explicit authorization for each new device, Keeper makes unauthorized access significantly more difficult. This helps protect against common cyber threats, such as password spraying, brute force attacks and social engineering.

Source: Keeper

27

Dec

When businesses operate 24/7, downtime is simply not an option. Downtime — whether due to cyberattacks, natural disasters or system outages — cripples operations, causes revenue loss and impacts long-term brand reputation. That’s why disaster recovery (DR) is a critical component of operational resilience for businesses today, ensuring they bounce back swiftly and effectively from any setback.

On that front, Datto has been a reliable partner for businesses in facilitating seamless disaster recovery and operational continuity. Trusted by thousands of businesses worldwide, Datto manages over 200 petabytes of data and facilitates 230,000+ cloud restores annually across file restores, image exports and virtualizations. These staggering figures highlight Datto’s capability to handle complex recovery needs with unmatched efficiency.

At the heart of Datto’s popularity is its 1-Click disaster recovery feature — a revolutionary approach that combines speed with simplicity. By significantly reducing the steps required to spin up a disaster recovery environment, Datto ensures minimal disruption to business operations. In moments of crisis, where every second counts, this seamless recovery process enables businesses to restore operations faster than ever before.

Let’s take a look at how Datto’s innovation in disaster recovery underscores a new paradigm: one where simplicity drives impact and resilience.

Rising data threats and traditional DR woes: The need for change

Today, businesses face a deluge of threats, ranging from sophisticated cyberattacks, like ransomware, to unforeseen natural disasters and hardware malfunctions. These incidents not only disrupt daily operations but also pose existential risks for businesses of all sizes. The frequency and complexity of such threats demand a disaster recovery approach that’s fast, reliable and efficient, yet traditional methods often fall short.

Traditional DR strategies are riddled with pain points that make them less effective when seconds count.

  • Lengthy recovery times mean businesses remain vulnerable, often losing revenue and customer trust.
  • Configuring recovery environments is notoriously complex, requiring intricate setups that leave room for error.
  • Furthermore, downtime comes with a hefty price tag, especially for SMBs where every minute of disruption has a ripple effect.

Let’s not forget the high-stress environment of disaster recovery — IT teams, already under pressure, are prone to manual errors that can further delay restoration efforts. These challenges underscore the need for a simplified, modernized approach to DR.

Datto’s recipe for DR: As effortless as reordering your go-to meal

Datto is redefining disaster recovery with a focus on speed and simplicity. Previously, spinning up a DR environment in the Datto Cloud involved multiple steps: creating cloud compute resources (virtual machines), configuring cloud networking and establishing user connectivity via cloud VLANs, site-to-site IPsec tunnels and VPNs. While effective, this process can be tedious, time-consuming and susceptible to user mistakes, especially during a crisis.

To solve this, Datto has introduced a seamless process that allows users to quickly clone test configurations and apply them to live disaster recovery environments. By streamlining these tasks, Datto makes disaster recovery as effortless as a few clicks, ensuring businesses can restore operations without delay or complexity.

Scalable, simple and reliable: Why Datto Cloud is a DR game changer

Datto Cloud stands apart as a purpose-built platform designed specifically to meet the needs of MSPs and SMBs. Unlike generic cloud solutions, it is finely tuned to handle the unique challenges these businesses face, offering unparalleled scalability and reliability. Datto Cloud’s infrastructure is built to grow with your business, whether you’re managing a few clients or scaling across multiple locations. Its resilience guarantees that data is secure and accessible when it matters the most, giving MSPs the confidence to protect their customers and SMBs the assurance of business continuity.

At the core of Datto’s innovation is the 1-Click DR process, which dramatically reduces the complexity of restoring operations after a disruption. This streamlined approach minimizes downtime by enabling real-time failover to the Datto Cloud, ensuring business-critical applications are back online within moments. Its user-friendly interface eliminates the technical barriers often associated with disaster recovery, allowing IT teams to execute recovery plans seamlessly — even under pressure.

By simplifying workflows and cutting recovery times, Datto empowers businesses to focus on what they do best, knowing their operations are secure and quickly restorable.

1-Click capabilities: The Datto Cloud advantage

Datto Cloud delivers best-in-class recovery time objectives (RTOs) for customers and partners, setting the gold standard in disaster recovery. On average, Datto achieves RTOs of less than six minutes, with 42% of recoveries completed in under two minutes. These remarkable figures underscore Datto’s commitment to speed and efficiency when it matters most.

Let’s look at some of the 1-Click DR capabilities of Datto:

1-Click Cloud Virtualization

Datto simplifies the virtualization process by enabling seamless 1-click cloud recovery. This feature clones a virtual machine (VM) using the most recent cloud restore point by default, or users can select from the last five restore points. The virtualized environment automatically reconnects to its previous network configuration, if available, or defaults to a straightforward networking setup. This ensures that businesses can restore critical workloads with minimal effort and zero guesswork.

1-Click Cloud VLAN

Managing VM connectivity has never been easier with Datto’s 1-Click Cloud VLAN feature. By cloning previous VLAN configurations, users save significant time and reduce manual data entry. This includes defining network addresses, subnet masks, gateway IPs, enabling DHCP, and configuring optional settings like outbound internet connectivity. With built-in search and sort capabilities, this feature ensures that network settings from past configurations can be quickly located, reused and applied, streamlining recovery workflows.

1-Click DR Plan

With the 1-Click DR Plan, Datto allows partners to create and save a default disaster recovery plan for all SIRIS devices. Users can select which systems to enroll in the plan, clone all VMs for testing or live recovery, and easily configure options through a user-friendly wizard. This includes selecting different restore points or cloud VLANs as needed, ensuring that every disaster recovery scenario is handled with precision and efficiency.

1-Click IPsec Tunnels

Thanks to Datto’s 1-Click IPsec Tunnels, building secure site-to-site VPN connections during disaster recovery is no longer a complex task. This feature enables users to apply previously saved IPsec configurations with a single click, eliminating the need for manual setup of passkeys, local IKE IDs, on-prem IPs, subnets and encryption settings. Users can also select and clone configurations from history, ensuring quick and secure connectivity without unnecessary complications.

Ensure business continuity with Datto Cloud

Datto Cloud’s 1-Click capabilities are revolutionizing how businesses approach disaster recovery, making it faster, simpler and more reliable than ever. By combining speed with ease of use, Datto ensures businesses can minimize downtime, reduce complexity and stay resilient in the face of disruptions. Are you ready to take the first step toward securing your business’s future? Explore how Datto Cloud can protect your operations with its game-changing features. Get a personalized demo today and discover why businesses worldwide trust Datto to deliver unparalleled business continuity and disaster recovery solutions.

Source: Datto

24

Dec

Sophos has once again achieved exceptional results in the latest 2024 MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations for Enterprise. In this round, Sophos XDR achieved:

  • The highest possible (‘Technique’) ratings for  100% of adversary activities in the Windows and Linux ransomware attack scenarios
  • The highest possible (‘Technique’) ratings for 78 out of 80 total adversary activities across all three comprehensive scenarios
  • ‘Analytic coverage’ ratings for 79 out of 80 total adversary activities activities

The eagerly anticipated results of the sixth round of MITRE ATT&CK® Evaluations for Enterprise have been released, assessing the ability of nineteen endpoint detection and response (EDR/XDR) solutions to accurately identify and report the malicious activities of sophisticated threat groups.

Watch this short video for an overview of the evaluation:

What are MITRE ATT&CK® Evaluations?

MITRE ATT&CK® Evaluations are among the world’s most respected independent security tests. They emulate the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) leveraged by real-world adversarial groups and evaluate each participating vendor’s ability to detect, analyze, and describe threats, with output aligned to the language and structure of the MITRE ATT&CK® Framework.

There is no singular way to interpret the results of ATT&CK Evaluations, and they are not intended to be competitive analyses. The results show what the evaluation observed and do not result in a “winner” or “leader” – despite what some vendors might like you to think!

There is nuance in the ways each vendor’s tool works and how it presents information to the analyst using it, and your individual needs and preferences play a vital role in determining which solution is best for you and your team. Learn about Sophos Extended Detection and Response (XDR)

Evaluation overview

This was the sixth round of ATT&CK Evaluations for Enterprise — MITRE’s product-focused evaluation — designed to help organizations better understand how endpoint detection and response (EDR) offerings like Sophos XDR can help them defend against sophisticated, multi-stage attacks.

This round focused on behaviors inspired by three known threat groups:

  • Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The evaluation emulated DPRK’s adversary behaviors targeting macOS via multi-stage operations, including elevating privileges and credential theft.
  • CL0P and LockBit Ransomware. The evaluation emulated behaviors prevalent across campaigns using CL0P and LockBit ransomware targeting Windows and Linux platforms, including the abuse of legitimate tools and disabling critical services.

Evaluation participants

Nineteen EDR/XDR solution vendors participated in this evaluation round (in alphabetical order):

Understanding the results

Each adversary activity (called a ‘sub-step’) emulated during the evaluation received one of the following ratings, indicating the solution’s ability to detect, analyze, and describe the adversary activity, with output aligned to the language and structure of the MITRE ATT&CK® Framework.

  • Not applicable — a “miss”: The adversary activity was not detected or the evaluation for the sub-step was not completed.
  • None: Execution of the sub step was successful; however, evidence provided did not meet the documented Detection Criteria, or there was no evidence of Red Team activity provided.
  • General: The solution autonomously identified that the malicious/suspicious event(s) occurred and reported the What, Where, When, and Who.
  • Tactic: In addition to meeting the criteria for a ‘General’ rating, the solution also provided information on the attacker’s potential intent; the Why, aligned to MITRE ATT&CK Tactics.
  • Technique — the highest possible rating: In addition to meeting the criteria for a ‘Tactic’ rating, the solution also provided details on the attacker’s method for achieving a goal; How the action was performed.

Detections classified as General, Tactic, or Technique are grouped under the definition of Analytic Coverage, which measures the solution’s ability to convert telemetry into actionable threat detections.

How did Sophos perform in this evaluation?

Throughout the evaluation, MITRE executed three discrete attack scenarios (DPRK, CL0P, and LockBit), comprising a total of 16 steps and 80 sub-steps.

Sophos XDR delivered impressive results, achieving:

  • The highest possible (‘Technique’) ratings for  100% of adversary activities in the Windows and Linux ransomware attack scenarios
  • The highest possible (‘Technique’) ratings for 78 out of 80 total adversary activities across all three comprehensive scenarios
  • ‘Analytic coverage’ ratings for 79 out of 80 total adversary activities activities

Attack scenario 1: DPRK (macOS only)
North Korea has emerged as a formidable cyber threat, and by expanding its focus to macOS, they have gained the ability to target and infiltrate additional high-value systems. In this attack scenario, the MITRE team used a backdoor from a supply chain attack, followed by persistence, discovery, and credential access, resulting in the collection and exfiltration of system information and macOS keychain files.

This scenario comprised 4 steps with 21 sub-steps on macOS only.

  • Sophos XDR detected and provided rich ‘analytic’ coverage for 20 out of 21 sub-steps (95%) in this scenario.
  • 19 sub-steps were assigned ‘Technique’ level categorization — the highest possible rating.

Attack scenario 2: CL0P ransomware (Windows)
Active since at least 2019, CL0P is a ransomware family affiliated with the TA505 cyber-criminal threat actor (also known as Snakefly) and is widely believed to be operated by Russian-speaking groups. The MITRE team used evasion techniques, persistence, and an in-memory payload to perform discovery and exfiltration before executing ransomware.

This scenario comprised 4 steps with 19 sub-steps on Windows only.

  • Sophos XDR detected and provided full ‘technique’ level coverage — the highest possible rating — for 100% of sub-steps in this scenario.

Attack scenario 3: LockBit ransomware (Windows and Linux)
Operating on a Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) basis, LockBit is a notorious ransomware variant that has gained infamy for its sophisticated tools, extortion methods, and high-severity attacks. The MITRE team gained access using compromised credentials, ultimately deploying an exfiltration tool and ransomware to stop virtual machines and exfiltrate and encrypt files.

This scenario comprised 8 steps with 40 sub-steps on Windows and Linux.

  • Sophos XDR detected and provided full ‘technique’ level coverage — the highest possible rating — for 100% of sub-steps in this scenario.

Learn more at sophos.com/mitre and explore the full results on the MITRE website.

How do Sophos’ results compare to other participants?

As a reminder, there’s no singular way to interpret the results of ATT&CK Evaluations, and you will see different charts, graphs, and other visualizations created by participating vendors that frame the results in different ways.

Detection quality is critical for providing details on the adversary’s behavior so analysts can investigate and respond quickly and efficiently. Therefore, one of the most valuable ways to view the results of ATT&CK® Evaluations is by comparing the number of sub-steps that generated a detection that provided rich detail on the adversarial behaviors (analytic coverage) and the number of sub-steps that achieved full ‘technique’ level coverage.

 

How to use the results of MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations

When considering an EDR or extended detection and response (XDR) solution, review the results from ATT&CK Evaluations alongside other reputable third-party proof points, including verified customer reviews and analyst evaluations. Recent third-party recognitions for Sophos XDR include:

As you review the data available in the MITRE portal for each participating vendor, consider the following questions as they pertain to you, your team, and your organization:

  • Does the evaluated tool help you identify threats?
  • Does it present information to you the way you want it?
  • Who will be using the tool? Tier 3 analysts? IT specialists or Sysadmins?
  • How does the tool enable you to conduct threat hunts?
  • Are disparate events correlated? Is that done automatically, or do you need to do that on your own?
  • Can the EDR/XDR tool integrate with other technology in your environment (e.g., firewall, email, cloud, identity, network, etc.) including solutions from other vendors?
  • Are you planning to use the tool by yourself, or will you have the support of a Managed Detection and Response (MDR) partner?

Why we participate in MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations

MITRE ATT&CK Evaluations are among the world’s most respected independent security tests due to the emulation of real-world attack scenarios and transparency of results. Sophos is committed to participating in these evaluations alongside some of the best security vendors in the industry. As a community, we are united against a common enemy. These evaluations help make us better, individually and collectively, for the benefit of the organizations we defend.

Get started with Sophos XDR

Our results in this latest evaluation further validate Sophos’ position as an industry-leading provider of endpoint detection and response (EDR) and extended detection and response (XDR) capabilities to over 43,000 organizations worldwide.

Visit our website or speak with an expert to see how Sophos can streamline your detection and response and drive superior outcomes for your organization today.

Source: Sophos

20

Dec

When you invest in a password manager, you should follow some best practices when setting it up to ensure your information stays secure. Some of the best practices when using a password manager include creating a strong master password, enabling MFA, changing weak passwords, auditing your passwords and setting a short inactivity logout timer.

Continue reading to learn more about the best practices when you use a password manager like Keeper®.

1. Create a strong master password

A password manager is convenient because all of your login credentials are kept in one place, and the only password you need to remember to access your private information is your master password. Since your master password is the key to accessing all your sensitive information, it is important to make it a strong one.

There is a fine line between making this master password easy for you to remember yet also unique enough to be secure. You can create a strong master password by making sure it is at least 16 characters long, uses a combination of letters, numbers and symbols, and does not include any personal information.

2. Enable MFA on your password manager

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is important to enable on your password manager and all of your accounts. MFA refers to an additional security measure that requires you to give an app or website an extra form of authentication to verify your identity. With MFA enabled on your password manager, a cybercriminal could not access your digital vault without an additional form of authentication, such as a code from an authenticator app, your fingerprint, a PIN or even your location.

3. Immediately change weak, reused and compromised passwords

Changing your weak, reused and compromised passwords is very important because the longer you keep your weak passwords, the higher the chance cybercriminals will crack them and access your information. Keeper Password Manager helps users avoid using weak or reused passwords by scanning existing passwords and identifying which ones should be replaced with new stronger passwords.

Depending on the functionality offered by your password manager, it may also be able to tell you which of your passwords have been compromised, which means they have been exposed on the dark web. After notifying you when one of your passwords has been compromised, a password manager is very useful and can help you make quick changes to your login credentials before your private information gets accessed by cybercriminals.

4. Frequently audit your passwords

For users who have many online accounts, a password manager will help you keep track of your login credentials as well as keep them safe. Since some password managers can tell you which of your passwords are weak, reused or compromised, it is helpful to do password audits often to ensure your passwords are all strong. Keeper Password Manager has an auditing feature called Security Audit, where you can see if your passwords fall under strong, medium or weak categories, as well as if they’re reused. For the passwords that are classified as weak, you can update them easily by using Keeper Password Manager.

5. Set a short inactivity log-out timer

Imagine you are at a coffee shop getting work done. Unbeknownst to you, someone in the coffee shop watched you type in your PIN on your laptop. When you step away from your laptop for a quick moment, a cybercriminal unlocks your laptop and steals your passwords and other private information before you come back because you don’t have a log-out timer set.

Luckily, if you enable a log-out timer with KeeperFill, your device will sign you out of your password manager after a certain length of inactivity. Since most password managers built into your browser keep you logged in, your passwords would be easily accessible to anyone who goes onto your device. When you use KeeperFill and its inactivity log-out timer, your passwords will stay protected, even after you step away from your device.

Secure your password manager for optimal security

Using a password manager to store your private information and login credentials keeps you much safer than not using one at all. However, if you use a password manager and implement these helpful practices, you’ll ensure your online accounts and sensitive information will remain secure.

If you don’t currently keep your login credentials in a password manager, try Keeper Password Manager today when you start a free 30-day trial. If you do use another password manager, Keeper offers direct importing from other password managers to make switching a breeze.

Source: Keeper

16

Dec

It’s that time of year when people in many parts of the world are looking forward to spending time with family and friends and taking a bit of a break.

Unfortunately, this time of year also sees a surge in cyber threats, as bad actors like to exploit the reduction in network monitoring over the holidays. Ransomware attacks, as an example, often spike significantly during this time.

To help you navigate this period safely, here are a few quick and easy best practices to better protect your network while you take some well-deserved time off.

For a full list of best practices to secure your network from ransomware and other attacks be sure to download our white paper on this topic.

1. Update your network infrastructure

Make sure that before you depart for the holidays, all your network infrastructure has been updated with the latest firmware. These updates often contain important security patches for known vulnerabilities or hardening enhancements.

If you’re a Sophos Firewall customer, make sure all your firewalls are updated to v21.

If you’re one of our customers still using soon to be end of life XG Series appliances, get an order in for your new XGS Series before you depart. Upgrading is easy and there are tremendous savings to be had – and if you upgrade early, you can overlap your licenses.

There’s also a new backup/restore assistant that makes upgrading to your new XGS Series appliance easy with full port-mapping options. And we just released a new line of desktop XGS Series models with new levels of performance and efficiency.

If you have other internet facing infrastructure like a VPN concentrator or WAF, make sure it’s also up to date.

2. Shut down any non-essential systems over the holidays

Any system that’s exposed to the internet is an attractive target for attackers looking to get a foothold on your network. If you have systems exposed to the internet, particularly via RDP or VNC, disable these systems over the holidays.

As you plan for the new year, explore implementing Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) to provide robust, next-generation protection for these systems and fortify your security posture. ZTNA will enable secure access only for specific authenticated users and will otherwise make your networked applications and systems invisible to attack.

If you don’t have ZTNA and you still need to access any systems remotely over the holidays, be sure to only allow access from the LAN and use remote access VPN – disable any port forwarding or NAT rules on your firewall. This also applies to any user portals that you may have provisioned – at least temporarily disable them over the holidays.

3. Ensure authentication is secured with MFA

Attackers often use brute force login attempts to exploit weak credentials, especially during the holidays.  Make sure all systems on your network are properly protected with strong passwords and multi-factor authentication (MFA). These measures significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access and keep your network secure.

Sophos has products and services that can help

As you would expect, Sophos Firewall and our full line of network security solutions are secure by design as we take your organization’s network security extremely seriously.

Our network security products seamlessly integrate with our full suite of cybersecurity products and services – including our 24/7 Managed Detection and Response service designed to provide you with unmatched protection and peace of mind—especially during the holiday season.

Under attack? Contact us in an emergency

If you experience an emergency incident over the holidays (or any time), you can engage our fixed-fee Sophos Rapid Response service. Our team of expert incident responders will help you triage, contain, and eliminate active threats, and remove all traces of the attackers from your network.

Whether it is an infection, compromise, or unauthorized access attempting to circumvent your security controls, we’ve seen and stopped it all. Sophos Rapid Response is available 24/7/365, including over the holiday period.

Get the full set of network security best practices to secure your network

For a full list of best practices to secure your network from ransomware and other attacks be sure to download our white paper on this topic.

Source: Sophos

12

Dec

When searching for the best password manager for your small business, there are several features you should consider based on your preferences and needs.

Zero-knowledge and end-to-end encryption

Your password manager should use zero-knowledge encryption, meaning all data stored in your vault can only be encrypted and decrypted by you. No one besides you can access your passwords if your password manager uses zero-knowledge encryption. For a password to be encrypted, it must be converted from a readable format into ciphertext, which neither people nor machines can read until it’s decrypted using an encryption key. The combination of a zero-knowledge model and end-to-end encryption is important for a business password manager because it ensures your employees’ passwords will only be known to them and protected from cybercriminals.

Passkey support

The password manager you choose for your small business should support passkeys for added security. A passkey allows you to log in to your accounts and apps without entering a password. Instead, you log in the same way you unlock your device. Keeper Password Manager supports passkeys, simplifying your employees’ login process by enabling them to manage their passkeys within their vault.

Secure sharing capabilities

Sharing login credentials and private files is important for your small business, so your password manager should enable you to share encrypted passwords and files with ease. Everything stored in your digital vault is encrypted, and when all your employees use a business password manager, you can easily give them access to any passwords or files they need. By using vault-to-vault record sharing, Keeper users can share records with team members while keeping information encrypted the entire time. Keeper also offers a feature known as One-Time Share, enabling users to share passwords and files with anyone, including non-Keeper users, for a limited time.

Cross compatibility

Your password manager should allow you and your employees to access your passwords and other important information from any device, web browser or operating system. A password manager like Keeper is ideal for small businesses that allow their employees to use different types of devices or web browsers because Keeper can be used on any device, no matter what web browser or operating system your employees use.

2FA code storage

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is a form of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), where you are required to enter another form of verification beyond your username and password to access an account. If you require your employees to enable 2FA, you should make sure whichever password manager you use for your small business can store 2FA codes. Some types of MFA that can be saved in a secure password manager like Keeper include answers to security questions and Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) codes. A password manager that can store these 2FA codes reduces the amount of time your employees spend trying to log in to their accounts and increases their productivity and safety.

Dark web monitoring

An essential feature of your password manager should be its ability to monitor the dark web. Dark web monitoring is a tool that searches for specific information, like your email address or passwords, on the dark web, to ensure they have not been compromised. When you use Keeper Password Manager for your small business, you can use BreachWatch, an add-on feature that constantly scans the dark web and notifies you immediately if your stored login credentials are found. By receiving notifications about your credentials being found on the dark web, you and your small business can stay protected and take action quickly to secure your passwords.

The best password manager for small businesses

If you’re looking for a password manager that covers all your security needs, look no further than Keeper Password Manager. Using Keeper is the best way to protect your employees, customers and small business from potential cyber attacks due to its zero-knowledge encryption, passkey support, secure sharing abilities, cross compatibility, MFA storage and dark web monitoring features.

Start your free 14-day trial of Keeper Business to discover the vast benefits of using a password manager to protect your small business from cyber threats.

Source: Keeper

9

Dec

Your small business should rely on a password manager to ensure your employees use strong passwords, to simplify onboarding and offboarding processes, securely share files, avoid potentially losing money from a cyber attack and improve employee productivity. A business password manager allows you and your employees to store and protect all passwords, with each employee having their own digital vault.

Continue reading to learn the five benefits of using a password manager for your small business and what to look for in an effective password manager.

1. Ensures each employee is using strong passwords

If your small business uses a password manager, you can easily enforce strong password security policies for all your employees. You can set a minimum password length and require that all employees use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on their accounts related to your business for extra security. A password manager can also identify passwords that are weak or being reused, which can help employees determine which passwords need to be changed. With complete visibility into employee password practices, a password manager makes it easy to enforce the use of strong passwords.

2. Simplifies employee onboarding and offboarding

Your small business deserves a convenient way to onboard and offboard employees, and having a password manager can simplify these tedious tasks. A password manager aids the onboarding and offboarding processes by enabling you to securely share passwords when an employee first arrives and quickly change them if an employee leaves. For onboarding, a password manager conveniently stores and organizes an employee’s login credentials based on their role, taking less time for you to set up the new employee’s accounts. When offboarding, a password manager lets you remove a former employee’s access to all systems and quickly change their passwords so they cannot compromise any business data. Most password managers also support automated provisioning and de-provisioning when integrated with your identity provider.

3. Enables secure password and file sharing

You and your employees need to be able to securely share passwords and files within your small business to reduce the risk of compromised data. Passwords and files shared over email are unencrypted, which means they could be intercepted by a cybercriminal. Worse than sharing important information over email is writing passwords down on a sticky note or piece of paper that could easily be picked up by anyone and used to compromise business data. Using a password manager to share important passwords and files keeps your business’ confidential data secure and ensures it goes to the correct recipient.

4. Saves money in the long run

Password managers can help your small business save money in the long run in the event of a cyber attack. For example, if your small business did not have a password manager in place and used weak passwords, it could suffer a data breach and be forced to shut down completely if its data or finances were compromised, not to mention the tarnished reputation. According to Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report, 68% of data breaches occur due to an employee making an error or falling victim to phishing scams. It would cost much less to invest in a password manager to protect your financial information, customer data and other online accounts than to risk being unable to recover following a cyber attack.

5. Improves employee productivity

With a password manager, your employees can be more productive since they won’t have to remember passwords on their own or spend time resetting them. The only password employees need to remember is their master password, which acts as the key to enter their vault.  Additionally, since password managers also help employees generate strong passwords with its built-in password generator, employees save time by not having to create them on their own.

With Keeper®, there is even a feature called KeeperFill, which automatically logs you in on any device, web browser or operating system, as long as you’ve downloaded the app or browser extension. Having this feature for your small business’ password management will help any employee log in to their accounts without needing to adjust to a different device, web browser or operating system for work.

Source: Keeper

6

Dec

For most organizations, the complexity and cost of recruiting, training, and retaining a highly skilled team of security operations analysts is a significant challenge. The reality of deploying and running your own 24/7 threat detection and response function is simply out of reach for many businesses and more IT professionals than ever are outsourcing security operations to a trusted partner like Sophos.

Most-reviewed by customers: A 2024 Gartner Customers’ Choice vendor

Sophos MDR is the most trusted managed detection and response service, and the most highly rated by customers. We are delighted to announce that Sophos has been named a Customers’ Choice vendor in the 2024 Gartner Voice of the Customer report for Managed Detection and Response for the second year running.

Based on verified customer reviews, Sophos is the highest-rated (4.9/5.0) and most-reviewed (344 reviews) vendor in the report. And, with this recognition, Sophos is the only vendor named a 2024 Customers’ Choice vendor across Endpoint Protection Platforms, Network Firewalls, and Managed Detection and Response categories.

Read the 2024 Gartner Voice of the Customer report for MDR

Sophos has also recently been recognized as the top overall MDR service in G2’s Fall 2024 Grid Report, based on customer reviews.

The world’s most trusted MDR service: 25K+ customers protected

Sophos has reached a significant milestone, now with over 25,000 organizations protected by the Sophos Managed Detection and Response (MDR) service – more customers than any other MDR provider.

Our elite teams of security analysts, incident responders, threat researchers, and engineers, deliver unparalleled protection to organizations of all sizes and industries, safeguarding their operations across the globe. This breadth and depth of experience enables Sophos to deliver superior cybersecurity outcomes day in and day out, detecting and neutralizing sophisticated attacks quickly.

Why do more organizations choose Sophos for managed detection and response? Sophos MDR is a service that meets you where you are:

  • Customizable: Multiple service tiers and threat response modes to meet your organization’s needs. Authorize the Sophos MDR team to execute full-scale incident response or collaborate with your security operations team to manage cyberthreats.
  • Compatible with existing tools: Sophos can provide the technology you need from our award-winning portfolio, or our analysts can leverage your existing cybersecurity technologies thanks to an extensive range of turnkey integrations.
  • Full-scale incident response:With the Sophos MDR Complete service tier, we provide unlimited incident response, with no caps or additional fees in the event of a breach. Our elite team goes beyond limited threat containment provided by other MDR services, with the ability to execute extensive response actions to disrupt and fully eliminate adversaries.
  • Breach Protection Warranty: Enjoy the peace of mind from having financial coverage if a breach occurs. The Sophos Breach Protection Warranty covers up to $1 million in response expenses for qualifying customers.
  • Leading threat intelligence: Sophos X-Ops is a joint task force that combines deep expertise across the attack environment to defend against even the most sophisticated threats.

To see what customers say about our service, check out hundreds of independent, verified reviews on Gartner Peer Insights and G2.

A service designed to scale

Managed Detection and Response (MDR) is one of the hottest, fastest-growing areas in cybersecurity. That’s no surprise to Sophos, which is why we created an MDR service that can provide superior cybersecurity outcomes for hundreds of thousands of customers. With over 25,000 customers already benefiting from Sophos MDR, we’re just getting started.We ensure the scalability of the service by focusing investments in:

  • Fully scalable technology platform: Sophos MDR is built on the cloud-native Sophos Central platform with high availability across multiple data centers. Over 600,000 organizations trust the Sophos Central platform to manage and secure their endpoints, firewalls, email gateways, and more.
  • Analyst talent acquisition and development: We invest in acquiring strong talent for our elite teams, training, and nurturing the very best cybersecurity practitioners in the industry. We employ hundreds of experts in threat intelligence, analysis, data engineering, data science, threat hunting, adversary tracking, and incident response.
  • Efficiency through automation: Early triage and threat investigation steps are automated, and intelligent routing ensures human-led tasks are efficiently delivered to the right person at the right time.
  • Partner-first MDR service: Our flexible deployment models enable Sophos partners to grow their business by co-managing or delivering their own MDR services or by reselling Sophos MDR to provide an “Instant SOC” to their customers.

Recognized by industry analysts

The most highly respected industry analysts recognize the strength of the Sophos MDR service in their comprehensive evaluations:

Discover Sophos MDR today

With superior service, top customer ratings, and impressive results in independent evaluations, it’s not surprising Sophos MDR is trusted by more organizations than any other provider.

To learn more about Sophos MDR and explore how we can help you, speak to one of our cybersecurity specialists today.

Source: Sophos

3

Dec

This November brings both the second anniversary and 1,000 customer milestone for Sophos Network Detection and Response (NDR). Such phenomenal growth in two short years reflects the power of Sophos NDR as well as growing awareness of the importance of network detection and response in the security stack.

Adversaries go to great lengths to avoid being detected before they can complete their attack. But however good they are at hiding their tracks, they always need to cross the network. The good news is that with Sophos NDR adversaries simply can’t hide – there is no spot that the solution can’t shine a light on.

Sophos NDR sits deep on the network, monitoring all network traffic from managed and unmanaged devices and detecting suspicious activities that may otherwise go unnoticed until it’s too late. Extensive response capabilities enable analysts – both in the Sophos MDR team and the in-house analysts of our customers and partners – to quickly investigate and neutralize threats.

Watch this short video to see Sophos NDR in action stopping a Cobalt Strike attack.

Combining AI and five real-time detection engines

Sophos NDR continually monitors your network traffic, using five real-time threat detection engines to identify signs of malicious or suspicious activity. Leveraging a combination of AI-powered machine learning, advanced analytics, and rule-based matching techniques, it identifies threats that often go undetected until it’s too late, including:

  • Threats on unprotected devices like point-of-sale systems, IoT and OT devices, and legacy operating systems
  • Rogue assets that adversaries exploit to launch attacks
  • Insider threats such as sensitive data uploads to an offsite location
  • Zero-day attacks, and more

Plus, when combined with other security telemetry, Sophos NDR enables threat analysts to paint a more complete, accurate picture of the entire attack path and progression, enabling a faster, more comprehensive response.

Dive deep with the powerful Investigation Console

The Sophos NDR Investigation Console deploys on the local network, providing rich analysis tools to accelerate the identification of potential issues and threats, including the timing of events, the number of occurrences, their severity, and their geo locations. It also enables analysis of application traffic to identify unwanted or suspicious application activity and potential data loss incidents, as well as analysis of risky session data to ensure the network is operating efficiently and securely.

Recognized as a Major Player

Sophos is recognized as a Major Player in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Network Detection and Response 2024 Vendor Assessment (November 2024, IDC #US51752324). The IDC MarketScape noted that “a powerful feature that businesses benefit from when working within a Sophos dedicated ecosystem is Active Threat Response.” The report also noted that “pricing is competitive for midsize companies.”

Flexible deployment, maximum impact

Sophos NDR deploys as a virtual appliance on VMware or Microsoft Hyper-V, in the cloud on AWS, or on a range of certified hardware appliances.

Licensing is based on the number of users and servers on the network. There are no restrictions or additional costs to deploy multiple NDR sensors and a single sensor can support up to 40Gbps of network traffic.

Sophos NDR is available with both our managed detection and response service, Sophos MDR, and our self-managed Sophos XDR solution. Whether you want to conduct network detection and response yourself or have our team do it for you, Sophos NDR can help.

Get started today

To learn more about Sophos NDR, visit our website or speak to your Sophos partner or representative. Current Sophos customers can also activate a free 30-day trial directly within their Sophos Central console.

Source: Sophos

28

Nov

Defenders need all the help they can get. The Sophos XDR team has been focused on delivering features and functionality that will expand and improve analysts’ efficiency and ability to detect and neutralize threats faster.

The latest enhancements expand the power and capabilities of Sophos XDR with generative AI (GenAI) and new case investigation functionality. The GenAI features are focused on delivering outcomes such as accelerated investigations, enabling less experienced analysts to do security operations and neutralize adversaries faster.

GenAI capabilities are available as an opt-in for all licensed Sophos XDR customers, ensuring they remain in control. Customers can opt into these features in Sophos Central.

AI Search

AI Search helps security analysts by allowing them to search large volumes of security data using natural language. This makes it easier to conduct investigations without needing advanced technical knowledge like SQL.

Powered by OpenAI’s large language models (LLMs), AI Search translates natural language queries into structured SQL queries that are executed against Sophos’ data lake.

Users can ask simple questions (e.g., “Show me all detections from the last week related to Windows Server”) and view results in a user-friendly format.

For more details, please refer to the AI Search article on the Sophos Community.

AI Case Summary

AI Case Summary provides an easy-to-understand overview of detections and recommended next steps, helping analysts make smart decisions fast.

This feature uses GenAI to analyze detections associated with a case to summarize what has happened, the entities involved, and possible next steps for investigation.

AI Case Summary also determines which MITRE ATT&CK tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) are observed within the case, if any.

AI Command Analysis

AI Command Analysis provides insights into attacker behavior by examining potentially malicious commands that create detections.

This feature uses GenAI to analyze the command line executed in the customer’s environment to explain the intent and describe the possible security impact on the environment. AI Command Analysis will de-obfuscate code, minimizing the complexity, time, and skills needed to assess a detection.

Coming Soon: AI Assistant

The Sophos AI Assistant is a collaborative chat interface designed to elevate security operations with a collaborative, conversational interface.

Underpinned by the Sophos Data Lake and a set of robust tools, the AI Assistant streamlines complex investigations using GenAI to improve threat response, no matter the level of expertise.

Sophos and AI

Sophos combines AI and human expertise to stop the broadest range of threats wherever they occur. Security analysts are empowered to make smart decisions fast, and customers can operate confidently, knowing Sophos’ robust, battle-proven AI solutions are on their side.

Since 2017, Sophos has been elevating cybersecurity with AI. Deep learning and GenAI capabilities are embedded at every point and delivered through the industry’s largest, most scalable, open AI platform.

Sophos’ AI-powered products and services secure over 600,000 organizations from cyberattacks and breaches.

New case investigation enhancements

When an analyst looks at the specifics of a detection as a part of a case, they now benefit from a refreshed and simplified interface of the pivot menu for new quick actions and updated queries.

The pivot menu allows an analyst to select key information from a detection, using it as a starting point for deeper investigation and immediate action.

Here’s what’s new:

  • Run actions: We have added the ability to isolate and un-isolate devices directly from the pivot menu, allowing users to remediate quickly without losing context
  • Run Live Discover and Search Data Lake: The queries list has been updated to feature the most frequently used queries
  • Copy Device Name: Easily copy the device name to the clipboard
  • Detections with Device: Go straight to the detections page to see all detections associated with the device; the default time range is the last 24 hours
  • Device Details: Navigate directly to the device details page for more in-depth information

The Cases public API has also been enhanced, allowing customers and partners to create, update, and delete cases using their preferred tools.

With this new functionality, customers can easily modify key fields such as case status, severity, and case summary, enabling more effective prioritization and faster triage times.

These improvements are designed to give customers more flexibility in their workflows and help address issues more efficiently. Please refer to the Cases API Guide for more details.

Source: Sophos

25

Nov

You can protect your home computer by securing your router, configuring your firewall, installing antivirus software, backing up your data regularly and using a password manager. If your entire family uses your home computer, protecting it is important for keeping your family’s data and identities safe from viruses, malware and hackers.

Continue reading to learn why it’s important to protect your home computer and the eight best practices to protect it from cyber threats.

The importance of keeping your home computer protected

Protecting your home computer is important because of all the tasks you use it for and all the data stored on it. Consider the bank information, passwords, email messages, photos and files that hackers can access if your computer is not protected. Without properly securing your home computer, hackers could potentially steal your money, data and identity through phishing attacks, compromised accounts and malware infections.

8 best practices to protect your home computer

Here are some of the best ways you can protect your home computer from hackers and other cyber threats.

1. Secure your router

To protect your home computer effectively, you should start by securing your router. You can do this by enabling encryption on your router, which ensures all information is sent through a coder and the only people who can decode it are on your home network. Securing your router with encryption enabled prevents hackers from monitoring your online activity and stealing your data, even within your own home.

You should also secure your router by setting it up with a strong password. Although most routers come with a default password, it is much safer to change this to a strong, unique password to secure your network and devices, including your home computer. Change your router’s password to one that is at least 16 characters long with a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.

2. Ensure your computer is password-protected

In addition to using a strong password for your router, you should also ensure your home computer is protected with a strong password. If multiple people in your household use the same computer, create separate profiles for each of them to protect their privacy and data. Each user or account should have a strong yet memorable password, potentially using passphrases, incorporating acronyms and avoiding common dictionary words. If your home computer supports biometrics, you should encourage everyone in your household to use their fingerprint or Face ID to unlock their account. Biometric authentication is a secure way to verify your identity when logging in to your home computer because a hacker cannot steal your fingerprint or Face ID since it is uniquely yours.

3. Enable and configure your firewall

A firewall protects your network from external threats, like hackers, by managing incoming and outgoing network traffic. Most modern Operating Systems (OS) have software firewalls, and home routers generally have built-in firewalls that you have to configure to activate. It’s important to enable and configure both your software-based and hardware-based firewalls on your home computer and router to enhance your network’s security and avoid cyber threats.

4. Install antivirus software

Antivirus software can be installed on your home computer to detect, stop and eliminate known viruses or malware before they can infect your device or other devices on your network. Having antivirus software installed on your home computer keeps your data safe from malware infections, which could steal your data or even spy on your online activity. Your home computer should have antivirus software because hackers have become more skilled at embedding malicious software into phishing attempts that you or your family members might fall victim to.

5. Enable automatic software updates

Having the most recently released software installed on your home computer is important because newer updates protect you from the latest cyber threats. By installing the latest software updates, your home computer will be equipped with the newest features, patched security flaws and fixed bugs that will increase the security of your device and data. Enabling automatic software updates eliminates the need to remember to manually update your home computer’s software, ensuring your computer has the most recent security features to protect your data.

6. Regularly back up your data

You can protect your home computer by regularly backing up your data. If you back up your data, you will have a copy of important files, photos and documents that allows you to restore your home computer if it ever gets hacked. As a precautionary measure, it is best to regularly back up your data and store it in a secure location. For example, if a family member falls for a phishing attempt and malware infects your home computer, a backup of your data from before the malware infection could restore it. To back up your data regularly, you can use an external hard drive to store your data off your device or use a cloud storage service such as iCloud, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive or Dropbox.

7. Use a password manager

Using a password manager can keep your home computer protected by storing your passwords in an encrypted vault that hackers cannot access. If you’re sharing your home computer with family members, you should invest in a password manager like Keeper Family Password Manager so each family member has their own digital vault to create, store and protect their passwords. By keeping your passwords in a private, encrypted location, your home computer will be better protected from password-based attacks, including brute force attacks and credential stuffing.

8. Learn to spot phishing attempts

While using your home computer, you may be targeted with phishing attempts, which aim to trick you into sharing private information with hackers impersonating people you trust. Protect your home computer by learning how to spot phishing attempts in the following ways:

    • Listen to your email service provider’s warnings about potentially dangerous emails.
    • Notice any urgent language or threatening consequences in suspicious emails.
    • Be cautious of too-good-to-be-true offers in unsolicited emails.
    • Avoid clicking on any unsolicited links or attachments in any email.
    • Do not reply to suspicious emails that request personal information.

Protect your home computer against vulnerabilities

Your home computer contains important information not only about you but also about any other members of your household who use it. That’s why you should protect your home computer against cyber threats and security vulnerabilities by securing your router, configuring a firewall, installing antivirus software, enabling automatic software updates and using a password manager. Keep your passwords safe from hackers by storing them in a password manager like Keeper®, which will create, update and store your passwords in an encrypted digital vault.

Start your free 30-day trial of Keeper Password Manager to protect your online accounts and keep your home computer safe against cyber threats.

Source: Keeper Security

22

Nov

Kaseya, the leading global provider of AI-powered cybersecurity and IT management software, announced Kaseya 365 User, joining Kaseya 365 Endpoint which launched in April 2024, at DattoCon Miami. Kaseya 365 User gives managed service providers (MSPs) the ability to help their customers prevent, respond to and recover from threats to user identity and security. Kaseya also announced it has acquired SaaS Alerts, an industry-leading cybersecurity company that helps MSPs monitor and protect customer’s SaaS application usage. SaaS Alerts’ technology is included for free as part of the Kaseya 365 User subscription, adding significant value to the new subscription for MSPs.

“Our mission is to make our partners more profitable, by providing them a platform that provides far more AI-based automation than otherwise available, and offering that platform at a fraction of the cost,” said Fred Voccola, CEO, Kaseya. “When we launched Kaseya 365 Endpoint earlier this year, the market response was astounding. Our goal from the beginning of our journey was to ensure our MSP partners get the recognition and financial benefits that match the enormous value they provide to SMBs around the world. Now, with Kaseya 365 User, we get to take another major step. Our partners can better protect themselves and their customers, automate service delivery and once again vastly improve their unit economics for greater profitability.”

While small businesses power the global economy, their technology infrastructure is largely dependent on MSPs to protect user data and respond to ever-present cyber threats. With Kaseya 365 User and Kaseya 365 Endpoint, MSPs can now offer comprehensive protection for small business owners and their customers.

“Now more than ever, there is a massive advantage to being an MSP powered by Kaseya,” said Nick Martin, Director of Managed Services, Mainstreet IT Solutions. “It’s a true competitive advantage because with Kaseya 365 User we’re getting more for less money, and we can pass along savings to our customers without sacrificing anything.”

SaaS Alerts, a critical component of Kaseya 365 User, is the leading SaaS security platform for MSPs. This innovative technology allows MSPs to monitor and remediate any potential threat to their critical business applications or users in SaaS environments in real time and ensure critical business applications are safe from both internal and external threats.

“As cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated, MSP tools need to evolve,” said Jim Lippie, CEO, SaaS Alerts. “With cloud detection and response, MSPs can identify breaches and act on them quickly. This is a must-have for MSPs to protect their customers.”

Additional key announcements from Kaseya include:

  • Backup Concierge Program: Backup is the last line of defense and one of the most important tools for an MSP, but it represents one of their largest spends and highest risks. Kaseya is committed to solving the challenge, both commercially and technically, with a $10M investment in the new Backup Concierge Program. This program is free for Kaseya Datto backup customers and is purpose-built to ensure they are optimizing their profitability, as well as supporting their technical needs throughout the data protection journey for new and existing clients.
  • Next Gen Endpoint Backup: Building on its commitment to protect data everywhere, Datto’s Endpoint Backup expands to offer better control, more flexibility, and greater restore options – while still at a price point which makes it more profitable than any competitive solution on the market. Purpose-built for MSPs, it boasts centralized, policy-based management; smart scheduling with custom controls (ie, business hours); full control over throttling, data regions, and selective backup configurations (inclusions/exclusions); and is fully integrated with popular MSP solutions like IT Glue, PSAs, RMMs and more.
  • Free Hardware for SIRIS: We believe every client deserves Datto. To make this possible, Datto SIRIS S5-X and S5-X4 appliances are now available with free hardware for any term – including month to month! MSPs can now afford to profitably provide the best disaster restoration in the industry to ALL clients while eliminating risk and standardizing their backup portfolio for even greater efficiency.
  • Cooper Copilot Expands to PSA: With new AI features, Kaseya BMS and Autotask both amplify technicians’ ability to swiftly act and communicate. Smart Ticket Summary saves time spent reading through tickets to see actions already taken, distilling it into a succinct recap. Smart Writing Assistant empowers technicians to send clear and professional messages to end-users by transforming their technical expertise into simple communication. Smart Resolution Summary automatically captures and documents the steps, actions and outcomes involved in resolving IT tickets, creating a detailed record for future reference and faster issue resolution. These features streamline the ticket resolution process so techs can do more in less time.
  • Better Together: Network Detective Pro and audIT are now one platform delivering unparalleled audit, discovery and reporting to MSPs to close more business and increase profits by showcasing IT value. New and existing partners get the automated capabilities of Network Detective Pro coupled with the dynamic presentation layer of audIT at no additional cost.
  • New Capabilities to Vonahi: Vonahi has introduced a new prospecting test feature that allows MSPs to offer potential clients a preliminary pentest evaluation to demonstrate immediate value. Further, custom-branded reports can now be exported to Microsoft Word for full customization that allows MSPs to add additional data and customize report themes to fit their company brand.

Kaseya 365 User is a new subscription offering in addition to Kaseya 365 Endpoint (formerly Kaseya 365), which was introduced in April. Less than six months after launching, Kaseya 365 Endpoint now protects more than 5.5 million devices.

For more details and to learn more about how to migrate to Kaseya 365 User, please visit here.

Source: Datto

19

Nov

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) is an important security measure because it requires an additional form of authentication before a user can access an account, service or app. Microsoft found that MFA can block over 99.9% of account compromise attacks, making it one of the most important cybersecurity measures you can implement to protect your accounts.

Continue reading to learn what MFA is, why it’s important and different ways you can enable MFA on your accounts.

What is multi-factor authentication?

MFA is an authentication method that allows you to access an account, service or app only after you’ve provided at least one additional authentication factor to verify your identity. Instead of relying solely on your username and password to protect your account, you can enable MFA to ensure no one else can access your account, even if your username and password become compromised. Once you’ve enabled MFA on any of your accounts and selected the type of MFA that works best for you, your account will be better protected from cybercriminals attempting to crack your password because they will not know your unique form of MFA.

Why it’s important to use multi-factor authentication

It’s important to use MFA because it adds an extra layer of security to your accounts, prevents your accounts from being compromised via data breaches and notifies you of suspicious login attempts.

MFA adds extra layers of security to accounts

Since enabling MFA prohibits anyone from accessing your account without at least one additional way to verify your identity, MFA adds an extra layer of security to any account you enable it on. Even if a cybercriminal guesses your password correctly and tries to log in to your account, MFA will stop anyone from gaining access to your private information.

MFA prevents account compromise from data breaches

If a company you have an account with suffers a data breach, your account’s login credentials may be compromised and could potentially fall into a cybercriminal’s hands. However, by enabling MFA, you can prevent your account from being compromised even in the event of a data breach because a cybercriminal won’t be able to authenticate your identity.

MFA alerts you to suspicious login attempts

Depending on the MFA method you have enabled on your accounts, some MFA options can notify you if suspicious login attempts have been made. For example, if you have SMS text messages enabled as a form of MFA, you will receive those messages only after your username and password have been correctly entered. If you didn’t try to log in to your account and still receive a text message code, this is a sign that someone else has used your username and password to try to gain access to your account.

What options do I have for MFA?

There are several types of MFA, and some accounts or websites limit which kinds of MFA you can use. Here are some examples of popular MFA methods you can enable on your accounts.

Time-Based One-Time Passwords (TOTPs)

Time-Based One-Time Passwords (TOTPs) are typically six-digit codes that are only valid for under one minute. You can download an authenticator app to store and access these TOTP codes. Once you’ve entered your password for an account to log in, you will be prompted to enter the limited-time TOTP code to verify your identity. Because these codes are only available for a short period and are unlikely to be intercepted, this form of MFA is very secure.

SMS-based authentication

SMS text message tokens require you to enter your phone number when creating an account. You will receive a code sent as a text message to your phone, which you can then use to log in to your account. This method of MFA is one of the least secure because someone can intercept your text messages through SIM swapping, or your phone could become lost or stolen.

Email-based authentication

Similar to SMS-based authentication, email-based authentication sends a One-Time Password (OTP) to your email to verify your identity when logging in to an account. After entering your username and password for an account, you will be sent an email with a code that you must enter to gain access to your account. Since your email account could potentially be hacked and email messages may be intercepted, this form of MFA is not very secure.

Security keys

Hardware security keys are physical tokens that you must keep in a safe location to ensure they don’t get lost or stolen. After you log in to your account, you will use the security key by inserting it into or tapping it on your device to validate your identity. Since a cybercriminal cannot steal this key online, the only way this MFA method would fail is if the security key is lost or stolen.

Security questions

Security questions are used both digitally and verbally to confirm your identity, so it’s important to choose a question that nobody can find the answer to online. For example, if you select a security question with your bank like, “What is your dog’s name?” someone may be able to find that information if you’ve posted pictures of your dog on social media.

Biometrics

Biometric authentication uses your unique physical characteristics, such as your fingerprint or facial features, to validate your identity. To set up biometrics as an MFA method, you have to scan your fingerprint or face with your device. Since everyone has a unique fingerprint and distinguishable facial features, this method of MFA is very secure, especially for logging in to accounts with sensitive data.

Keep your accounts safe with strong passwords and MFA

You can protect your accounts by using strong passwords and enabling MFA. Make sure each of your accounts has a unique password containing at least 16 characters and a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols.

Once you’ve updated your passwords to stronger ones and set up MFA on accounts that support it, you should store your passwords and MFA methods in a password manager like Keeper®. Keeper Password Manager can store passwords and 2FA codes, eliminating the hassle of going back and forth between apps to unlock your account.

Start your free 30-day trial of Keeper Password Manager to simplify your login process and protect your accounts.

Source: Keeper Security

12

Nov

Kaseya 365 offers a seamless way to manage, secure, back up and automate your endpoints from a single interface, all under one affordable subscription. By consolidating these four crucial IT functions into one service, Kaseya 365 provides IT professionals with an efficient way to deliver IT services and manage their infrastructure. For example, a technician running routine maintenance across hundreds of devices can automate updates, monitor performance and ensure backups run smoothly from a single dashboard.

The four main pillars of Kaseya 365

Kaseya 365 is built on four key pillars: manage, secure, back up and automate. These pillars are the core of the platform

A. Manage

Managing endpoints using fragmented tools can be a nightmare for technicians. You’re constantly switching between platforms, trying to piece together information and often reacting to problems instead of preventing them. It’s stressful, time-consuming and prone to errors.

Kaseya 365 gives you advanced remote monitoring and maintenance solutions, Datto RMM and Kaseya VSA, for complete control over endpoints, networks and cloud services. With real-time monitoring, advanced automation and quick troubleshooting, you can fix issues before they escalate. Moreover, your intuitive dashboards and detailed reports provide a crystal-clear view of your IT landscape, allowing you to cut operational costs, boost security and improve end-user support with ease.

Datto RMM

Datto RMM is a secure, full-featured remote monitoring and management solution. Known for its scalability, efficiency and usability, it’s perfect for enhancing IT management. Key features include:

  • Advanced software management
  • Flexible patch management
  • Monitoring automation and scripting
  • Rapid remote access and support
  • Auto-remediation of issues
  • Asset and inventory management
  • Reporting and analysis
  • IT automation

Kaseya VSA

Kaseya VSA represents unified IT management, allowing you to oversee and control any device within your network from anywhere. As a comprehensive RMM software, it centralizes real-time monitoring, automated patch management and security features, making it easier to maintain and protect your IT environment. This unified approach simplifies operations, boosts efficiency and enhances service delivery. Key features include:

  • Comprehensive monitoring and alerting
  • Automated patch management
  • Auto-remediation of issues
  • Asset and inventory management
  • Remote access and control
  • Omni network monitoring
  • Reporting and analysis
  • IT automation
  • Mobile device management

B. Secure

Ensuring endpoint security across multiple platforms is a significant challenge for IT professionals. The constant threat of cyberattacks requires vigilant monitoring and rapid response. Kaseya 365 provides a robust suite of security features such as integrated EDR, antivirus and ransomware protection to help you monitor and neutralize threats in real-time. This comprehensive security approach not only protects your data but also ensures compliance with industry standards, giving you peace of mind.

Datto EDR

Datto EDR offers advanced threat detection capabilities, ensuring that any malicious activity is identified and addressed swiftly. It provides real-time visibility into endpoint activities, allowing you to detect, investigate and respond to threats effectively. Key features include:

  • Detect fileless attacks
  • MITRE ATT&CK mapping
  • Easily stop zero day threats
  • Eliminate alert fatigue
  • Automated threat mitigation recommendations
  • Patented advanced correlation engine to reduce unnecessary noise and drown out false positives
  • Automated threat response

Datto antivirus (AV)

Datto AV stands as your business’s first line of defense, offering next-generation antivirus protection. With automatic updates and comprehensive scanning capabilities, your systems remain protected without requiring constant manual intervention. Key features include:

  • AI, machine learning and the latest in threat intelligence to identify and block threats
  • Proactive identification and blocking of zero-day and polymorphic threats
  • Automatic virus definition updates
  • Comprehensive system scans and real-time protection
  • Customizable scanning schedules
  • Global threat intelligence

RocketCyber managed detection and response (MDR)

RocketCyber MDR provides advanced, continuous protection by leveraging cutting-edge technology and expert analysis to proactively monitor, detect and respond to cyberthreats in real-time. This means you can rest easy knowing your critical data and infrastructure are safe from even the most sophisticated attacks. Key features include:

  • Endpoint: Windows, macOS and Linux event log monitoring, breach detection, malicious files and processes, threat hunting, intrusion detection, third-party NGAV integrations and more.
  • Network: Firewall and edge device log monitoring integrated with threat reputation, whois and DNS information.
  • Cloud: Microsoft 365 security event log monitoring, Azure AD monitoring, Microsoft 365 malicious logins, Secure Score.

Ransomware detection

Stay ahead of cyberthreats with Datto RMM and VSA’s in-built ransomware detection capability. The feature leverages real-time monitoring, behavioral analysis and automated response protocols to detect suspicious activities and isolate affected endpoints immediately. With robust reporting and alerts, you’ll always be informed and ready to tackle any threat. Key features include:

  • Early detection of ransomware behavior
  • Automated response to ransomware threats
  • Regular backups and quick recovery options
  • Continuous monitoring for new ransomware variants

C. Backup

Data loss can be catastrophic for any organization. Whether caused by hardware failure, human error or cyberattacks, losing critical data can disrupt operations and lead to significant financial losses. Kaseya 365’s integrated backup solutions ensure that your data is always secure and recoverable. The comprehensive backup approach supports various environments, including on-premises and cloud, ensuring that your data is protected regardless of where it resides.

Datto endpoint backup

Datto endpoint backup has got you covered, protecting everything from Windows servers and virtual machines (VMs) to cloud instances, desktops and laptops. Features like automated backups, end-to-end encryption and rapid restore capabilities work together to keep your data safe and quickly recoverable. With advanced scheduling, flexible retention policies and centralized management, you can easily customize and control your backup strategy. Key features and benefits include:

  • Reliable, appliance-free Windows Backup, a feature that uses image-based backup technology, removing the need to procure or manage additional hardware
  • Software-only Windows backup directly to the Datto Cloud, ensuring your data is protected no matter what
  • Recovery from ransomware or hardware failure
  • Reliable cloud backup to easily restore individual files or restore the entire image to a new device
  • Simple deployment and management

Unitrends endpoint backup

Protect your data anytime, anywhere with Unitrends endpoint backup. Whether it’s work-from-home users, road warriors or remote servers, Unitrends makes endpoint protection effortless with resilient, automated backup and recovery. Key features and benefits include:

  • Simplified deployment with no assembly required. Eliminate the hassle of implementing unfamiliar, complicated devices
  • Simply install the Unitrends agent and our endpoint backup solutions will begin automatically backing up to the secure Unitrends Cloud — no hardware required
  • Get protected quickly, with no infrastructure and minimal configuration
  • Built for remote management of dispersed endpoints
  • Reliable endpoint backup, efficient recovery
  • Multilayered security for maximum protection — data is encrypted in-flight and at-rest and stored on immutable blocks
  • Cloud deletion defense enables recovery of accidentally or maliciously deleted backups

D. Automate

Manual IT tasks can be time-consuming and prone to errors, diverting valuable resources from strategic initiatives. Automating these tasks can significantly enhance efficiency and accuracy, allowing your IT team to focus on more critical projects. By leveraging powerful automation tools, you can reduce the workload on your IT staff and improve overall operational efficiency. This not only saves time and reduces errors but also allows for more proactive management of your IT environment. Kaseya 365 offers more than 20 out-of-the-box automations and even policy-based automation capability to help you break barriers on what you can do. Here are some pre-configured workflows available:

  • Automated patch management
  • System health checks
  • Software deployment
  • Disk cleanup
  • Security scans
  • Backup and restore
  • User account management
  • Performance monitoring
  • Incident response

Real-world applications and case studies

To truly grasp the value of Kaseya 365, let’s look at a real-world success story. Two River Technology Group, an MSP based in Holmdel, New Jersey, saw remarkable results with Kaseya 365. They achieved a 28% reduction in tool costs, saved dozens of manual labor hours each month and streamlined their billing processes. These improvements not only boosted their profitability but also enhanced their service delivery.

Future of IT management with Kaseya 365

Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and automation are already significantly impacting businesses. In Kaseya’s 2024 The Future of IT Survey Report, a whopping 40% of organizations said they are prioritizing investments in IT automation, 37% are investing in AI and machine learning, and 23% are exploring ChatGPT.

In this environment, Kaseya 365 is designed to help users capitalize on these growing trends and elevate their IT management to new levels of efficiency. With 20 built-in advanced automations and seamless integration, Kaseya 365 brings unprecedented speed, efficiency and accuracy to your IT management. We encourage you to take a demo of Kaseya 365 and see for yourself why it’s creating such a buzz. Discover firsthand how it can transform your IT management, making your operations more efficient, secure and cost-effective. Book a demo of Kaseya 365 today.

Source: Kaseya

9

Nov

The Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA) is a regulation that strengthens digital security among financial institutions in the European Union (EU). Although DORA came into effect in 2023, it will be fully adopted by all EU financial entities and third-party service providers of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) beginning in January 2025 to improve their defenses against potential cyber threats.

Continue reading to learn DORA’s objectives, its main pillars of compliance and how your organization can prepare for DORA.

The purpose of DORA

DORA’s two main goals are to improve how financial services manage ICT risks and to unify existing ICT-risk management regulations across individual EU member states.

Address ICT-risk management in the financial sector

In EU financial institutions, risk management regulations focus on ensuring that organizations have enough money to handle risks to their operations. The issue with this, however, is that some organizations have ICT guidelines while others do not. Without a unified set of security standards or rules for ICT-risk management, each EU member state has been left to develop its own requirements. DORA will make the financial sector more secure and better able to handle risks related to its online systems and technological vulnerabilities by standardizing these requirements.

Harmonize risk management regulations into one framework

With DORA, the EU can rely on a consistent security framework to manage ICT risks, primarily in the financial services sector. This will eliminate inconsistencies between different EU countries regarding their standards and make the compliance process easier for financial institutions to follow. DORA will help organizations better understand what to do in the event of a security risk.

The 5 pillars of DORA compliance

EU organizations impacted by DORA will need to follow its five pillars of compliance by January 17, 2025.

1. ICT-risk management

ICT-risk management is the foundation of DORA because it detects and analyzes risks associated with an organization’s use of technology. Financial institutions must follow an ICT-risk management framework with the help of crucial stakeholders and senior management members to establish strong communication about potential security risks. ICT-risk management should detail the appropriate tools, documents and processes to defend an organization from operational risks and cyber threats. Without proper ICT-risk management, organizations will have a higher chance of suffering data breaches and other security issues that could damage their businesses and reputations.

2. ICT incident reporting

Once an ICT-risk management framework is established, an organization needs to know how to report incidents if they occur. With DORA, ICT-incident reporting will become a simpler process by consolidating these reports into a more streamlined channel. Financial organizations must submit a root cause report to a unified EU hub within one month of a serious ICT-related incident based on the new EU reporting rules. Once an organization has submitted a root cause report, the EU hub will review all major ICT-related reports and gather any data to determine if there are common security vulnerabilities among financial institutions.

3. Digital operational resilience testing

Some financial entities currently enlist independent parties to regularly conduct digital operational resilience testing, which tests their methodologies, procedures, tools and recovery systems in preparation for any ICT-related risks. Although there are existing frameworks in place that cover digital operational resilience testing for certain financial organizations, DORA will make testing requirements widespread across the financial services sector. This will increase the number of organizations required to conduct digital operational resilience testing, which will minimize the cost of hiring independent parties and reduce the chances of organizations suffering cyber attacks.

4. Information and intelligence sharing

After DORA is in full effect, organizations will be required to share cyber threat information within trustworthy financial communities. The main goal is to help other organizations become aware of potential cyber threats so they can develop their own solutions to protect private information. Organizations will outline and share strategies they use to combat cyber threats to improve the overall security of the financial services community.

5. ICT third-party risk management

Financial entities must have contracts in place with any ‘critical’ ICT-service providers, highlighting topics such as data protection and incident management. What distinguishes certain ICT-service providers as ‘critical’ includes the services that are crucial to an organization’s daily operations. Contracts with critical third-party providers ensure that they must support their affiliated financial organizations in the event of a data breach or other cyber attack. For example, when a contract is signed, the third-party provider will be required to share appropriate information and uphold the highest level of security standards for services provided to a DORA-compliant financial organization due to their ‘critical’ status.

How to prepare for DORA compliance

Your organization can prepare to meet DORA’s requirements in a variety of ways, including conducting a DORA gap analysis, identifying critical third-party providers and assessing your current incident response plan.

Conduct a DORA gap analysis

To determine all gaps across ICT systems, your organization should perform a DORA gap analysis. You can assess your current practices by comparing them to what DORA will require, which will help you better identify any areas that your organization needs to improve to comply with the new requirements. Based on the results of your DORA gap analysis, you may need to create a remediation roadmap to address any gaps within your organization. For example, if your gap analysis shows that your organization doesn’t participate in information sharing, you will need to identify actions and establish a timeline to ensure your organization becomes DORA-compliant.

Identify critical third-party ICT providers

Your organization must determine if you are working with any ‘critical’ third-party ICT providers by identifying all the characteristics that define this categorization. If you use any third-party Cloud Service Providers (CSPs), your security team needs to make sure these vendors are also DORA-compliant and have contracts in place. It’s important to identify which of your third-party service providers fall into the ‘critical’ category because you may need to establish teams and alter software to ensure DORA compliance.

Assess your current incident response plan

An incident response plan assigns responsibilities and provides procedures for an organization’s employees to follow if a data breach or cyber attack occurs. With an established incident response plan, your organization will not need to panic if something goes wrong but instead will be prepared to identify, evaluate, remediate and prevent attacks from occurring again. Assuming that your organization already has an incident response plan in place, you will need to reevaluate whether your current plan is DORA-compliant. Measure your current plan against DORA’s requirements to assess whether your organization will be following specific mandates. If you test your incident response plan by simulating a data breach and discover vulnerabilities, you will also need to modify your internal reporting to meet DORA’s standards.

What happens if firms fail to comply with DORA?

If a financial entity does not comply with DORA, authorities can impose fines up to 2% of the organization’s annual global revenue. While the organization as a whole will suffer as a result of not complying with DORA, individual managers can also receive a financial penalty of up to one million euros. For any ‘critical’ third-party ICT providers who fail to comply with DORA, the penalty could be as high as five million euros.

How KeeperPAM® can help you meet DORA compliance

Your organization can strengthen its security and meet certain DORA compliance requirements by investing in a Privileged Access Management (PAM) solution like KeeperPAM. When you use KeeperPAM, your organization will be able to closely monitor and manage employees and systems that handle sensitive data and critical accounts, significantly reducing any errors or vulnerabilities that could lead to data breaches or cyber attacks. KeeperPAM can help organizations in the financial sector meet DORA compliance by reducing their attack surface, ensuring secure access for authorized users and achieving complete reporting for every privileged account.

Request a demo of KeeperPAM today to ensure that your organization is prepared for DORA compliance requirements and secured with the highest levels of protection for your sensitive data.

Source: Keeper Security

6

Nov

Investing in a comprehensive IT management solution is the surest and fastest way for managed service providers (MSPs) and IT teams to elevate their IT management capabilities. Technology is the foundation of all modern business and as such 100% uptime on technology is now considered essential. However, managing IT infrastructure smoothly while relying on fragmented tools is no easy task for technicians, especially when they also have to defend against security threats, manage constant data recovery issues and respond to a steady stream of support requests. Kaseya 365 will empower you to manage, secure, back up and automate IT and security management.

What is Kaseya 365?

Kaseya 365 offers a seamless way to manage, secure, back up and automate your endpoints from a single interface, all under one affordable subscription. By consolidating these four crucial IT functions into one service, Kaseya 365 provides IT professionals with an efficient way to deliver IT services and manage their infrastructure. For example, a technician running routine maintenance across hundreds of devices can automate updates, monitor performance and ensure backups run smoothly from a single dashboard.

The real power of Kaseya 365 lies in its automation prowess and seamless integrations. As the core subscription for the Kaseya IT Complete platform, Kaseya 365 offers the same level of integration that IT Complete is known for. While endpoint management, security and backup solutions are seamlessly integrated, you can expand your universe anytime to leverage the 30+ modules and over 1,300 integrations IT Complete provides. Limitless efficiency gains and cost savings are just a click away.

Kaseya 365 comes in two variants: 365 Express and 365 Pro. Its key capabilities are:

  • Remote monitoring and management (RMM): Centralized oversight and control of endpoints with real-time monitoring, maintenance and troubleshooting.
  • Patch management: Automates software updates and patches for both OS and third-party applications to eliminate vulnerabilities and ensure compliance.
  • Endpoint detection and response (EDR): Comprehensive threat detection, analysis and response to protect endpoints from sophisticated threats.
  • Antivirus: Robust malware and virus protection with real-time scanning and automatic updates.
  • Ransomware detection: Advanced algorithms identify and neutralize ransomware attacks in progress, preventing potential widespread damage to your organization.
  • Endpoint backup: Regular, automated backups for rapid data recovery and continuity.
  • Managed detection and response (MDR): Enhanced threat detection and incident response managed by U.S.-based cybersecurity experts, exclusive to the 365 Pro version.

The value of Kaseya 365 for MSPs and IT departments

Kaseya 365 is designed to bring simplicity, efficiency and affordability to MSPs and IT departments. Consolidating all critical components into a single, easy-to-manage subscription minimizes vendor fatigue and streamlines the management process. This unified approach allows IT professionals to focus on their core tasks without juggling multiple tools and vendors.

Efficiency is at the heart of Kaseya 365. Its robust workflow integrations and automations dramatically improve technician productivity. Kaseya 365 not only saves time but also reduces the risk of errors, ensuring tasks are completed accurately and swiftly. Additionally, Kaseya 365 offers significant budget benefits, saving up to 75% compared to using a mix of separate solutions. For MSPs this often results in an instant increase in profit margin by about 37% due to the immense costs savings compared to traditional IT management software stacks.

Key benefits of Kaseya 365 are:

  • Enhanced operational efficiency
  • Improved security and compliance
  • Streamlined IT management and maintenance
  • Cost savings and resource optimization

Getting started with Kaseya 365

Implementing Kaseya 365 in your organization is straightforward. Follow these steps:

  • Assess your needs: Identify the specific requirements of your IT environment.
  • Choose the right variant: Decide between 365 Express and 365 Pro based on your needs.
  • Plan your deployment: Develop a deployment strategy that includes timelines and milestones.
  • Leverage the four main pillars: Customize solutions to meet your business needs using the manage, secure, back up and automate pillars.
  • Train your team: Ensure your team is well-trained to maximize the benefits of Kaseya 365.

Best practices for leveraging the four main pillars:

  • Manage: Use real-time monitoring and detailed reporting for insights. Regularly update management policies to align with organizational goals.
  • Secure: Implement multilayered security with EDR, antivirus and ransomware protection. Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability assessments.
  • Back up: Schedule automated backups for critical data. Periodically test disaster recovery plans for quick data restoration.
  • Automate: Automate repetitive tasks like patch management and software deployment. Create custom workflows tailored to your IT processes and business needs.

Tips for customizing Kaseya 365 to meet specific business needs

  • Tailor the dashboard: Customize the Kaseya 365 dashboard to show critical alerts, performance metrics and security statuses. Implement role-based access controls for team members.
  • Leverage integrations: Connect Kaseya 365 with other tools and systems your organization uses. Utilize APIs for custom integrations to meet specific business needs.
  • Continuous improvement: Regularly review IT processes to identify improvements. Use Kaseya 365 insights for data-driven decisions and stay updated with the latest features and updates.

Future of IT management with Kaseya 365

Emerging technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning and automation are already significantly impacting businesses. In Kaseya’s 2024 The Future of IT Survey Report, a whopping 40% of organizations said they are prioritizing investments in IT automation, 37% are investing in AI and machine learning, and 23% are exploring ChatGPT.

In this environment, Kaseya 365 is designed to help users capitalize on these growing trends and elevate their IT management to new levels of efficiency. With 20 built-in advanced automations and seamless integration, Kaseya 365 brings unprecedented speed, efficiency and accuracy to your IT management. We encourage you to take a demo of Kaseya 365 and see for yourself why it’s creating such a buzz. Discover firsthand how it can transform your IT management, making your operations more efficient, secure and cost-effective. Book a demo of Kaseya 365 today.

Source: Kaseya