96% of Companies are Concerned About Public Cloud Security
While most companies have adopted the public cloud and have moved at least some of their workloads or infrastructure to the cloud, confidence in cloud security is low. According to a recent study conducted by Vanson Bourne on behalf of Sophos, 96% of the 3,251 respondents to the survey said they were concerned about their current state of their cloud security. The survey was conducted on IT managers in 26 countries, including the...
Sophos Discovers and Patches Actively Exploited Flaw in its XG Firewall
Sophos has released a patch for a zero-day vulnerability in its XG Firewall which has been exploited in attacks to deliver malware. The flaw was discovered by Sophos on April 22, when an anomalous field value was discovered in the management interface of the Firewall. The investigation uncovered a previously unknown SQL injection vulnerability that had been exploited on some virtual and physical firewalls. Sophos reports that several...
Sophos Threat Report Predicts 2020 Cyberattack Trends
Sophos has released its 2020 Threat Report, which reveals some of the recent changes in the cybersecurity threat landscape and details some of the key attack trends that are likely to continue in the New Year. The cybersecurity threat landscape is in a constant state of flux, so it is impossible to predict what direction cybercriminals will take over the next 12 months, although the attack trends from the past few months provide...
Thoma Bravo Private Equity Firm Makes Offer to Acquire Sophos
One of the most active private equity firms in the technology and software sector, Thoma Bravo, has made an offer to acquire the cybersecurity firm Sophos. The offer of $7.40 per share represents an enterprise value of $3.82 billion. Over the past 40 years, Thoma Bravo has acquired more than 200 computer software and technology firms with a combined value of $50 billion. Those acquisitions have been secured with more than $35 billion...
Sophos Announces New Strategic Partnership with ArcServe
The network and endpoint security firm Sophos has announced a new strategic partnership with the data protection provider, Arcserve. The collaboration will provide Arcserve customers with greater protection from ransomware attacks. Many businesses have succumbed to ransomware attacks in the past few years and have faced the difficult decision of paying exorbitant demands for keys to unlock encrypted files or having to deal with major...
Sophos Adds Deep Learning to Email Security Offering
Sophos has announced a major update to its email security offering to help customers detect and block sophisticated new email threats. Sophos Email Security Advanced now incorporates deep learning and predictive security for active threat protection along with outbound scanning, anti-phishing email authentication, and policy support. According to Sophos research, 75% of malware variants that make it past perimeter defenses are unique...
SamSam Ransomware Threat Actors Switch to Targeted Company-Wide Attacks
The threat actors behind the latest SamSam ransomware attacks have switched tactics and are now conducting highly targeted, company-wide attacks with the aim of infecting large numbers of devices. Companies are being researched and companies that are perceived to be most likely to pay the ransom are being attacked. Instead of using spam and phishing emails to gain access to devices, the threat actors are exploiting vulnerabilities to...
Two Thirds of Indian Companies Have been Targeted with Ransomware
Sophos has published a new State of Enterprise Security Report that provides insight into the main threats faced by organizations around the world. The report was based on a survey conducted on 2,700 IT managers based in 10 countries (USA, UK, Canada, France, Germany, India, South Africa, Japan, Mexico, and Australia). One of the key points from the report is the extent to which Indian businesses are being attacked and just how...
Sophos Launches Phish Threat 2.0
Sophos has launched a new version of its Phish Threat simulator. Phish Threat 2.0 is an enterprise-class phishing simulation platform that allows businesses to run their own internal phishing campaigns to test the effectiveness of their security awareness programs and discover how susceptible their employees are to phishing threats. Training employees to be more security aware is now an essential element of any cybersecurity strategy....
Sophos Warns Users About Fake Antivirus Apps
Sophos has alerted users to the risk of downloading fake antivirus apps. The firm has also released a new white paper on a specific antivirus app called Super Antivirus 2018. According to the report, the app has been downloaded 50,000 times, presumably by users who are concerned about security. While the app does appear to be scanning the mobile device on which it is installed, all the app really offers is the illusion of security....
Sophos Helps Consumers Avoid Phishing Scams When Shopping Online
Holiday season is a busy time for cybercriminals just as it is for online shoppers, so how can you avoid phishing scams when shopping online this festive season? Sophos has recently offers tips for consumers to help them avoid phishing scams when shopping online, highlighting some of the common tactics used by scammers, and how to recognize phishing websites and scam emails. One of the most common ways that scammers fool victims is...
SophosLabs Publishes 2018 Malware Forecast
The Oxford, UK-based cybersecurity firm Sophos has published its 2018 Malware Forecast. The report, produced by SophosLabs, is based on an analysis of threat information from Sophos customers gathered between April 1, and October 3, 2017. In the report, key malware and ransomware attack trends are identified, allowing Sophos to make predictions about the main threats that can be expected in the coming year. One of the main trends...
Global Cyberattacks Boost Sophos Quarterly Results
The British cybersecurity firm Sophos has announced its quarterly results, which were much improved in no small part due to the recent WannaCry and NotPetya malware attacks. Following the WannaCry ransomware attacks in May, the company has worked closely with organizations to improve their cybersecurity defenses to block ransomware. The NotPetya wiper attacks in June also raised awareness of the seriousness of the malware threat...
Sophos Included in Gartner UTM Magic Quadrant for 2017
Sophos has announced it has been included in the 2017 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Unified Threat Management. Gartner’s Magic Quadrants include the best companies in their respective fields, with each firm rated for their completeness of vision and ability to execute. If both ratings are sufficiently high, the company is included in the Magic Quadrant. To be included is a great honor and clearly demonstrates companies are leaders in...
Sophos Issues Guidance on WannaCry Ransomware
Sophos has released guidance on WannaCry ransomware, explaining how the attacks occurred, why these attacks were different from other ransomware incidents and how the company has helped to protect customers from attack with its next-generation anti-ransomware solutions. The attacks started last Friday and rapidly spread around the globe. The ransomware encrypted files, preventing victims from accessing their data. Victims were...
Sophos Recognized as ‘Best Technology Company’ at PLC Awards
The PLC Awards program has been running for the past 31 years and recognizes outstanding achievements made by UK companies. The awards program is not specific to the information security industry, instead companies from a wide range of areas are recognized for their achievements across several categories including investor communication, growth, sustainability, transformation, and innovation in technology. Nominated companies are...
Sophos Malware Report Predicts Rise in Ransomware and IoT Threats
Ahead of the RSA Conference 2017, SophosLabs has released a new malware forecast that makes predictions about the changing threats over the coming months. SophosLabs reports typically concentrate on the Windows platform, since it is Windows devices that are most commonly attacked, although the latest report also covers other platforms such as Android, MacOS and Linux. SophosLabs details four trends from 2016 in its report that are...
Sophos Acquires Endpoint Security Company Invincea
The next-gen endpoint security company Invincea has been acquired by Sophos, with the firm’s security solutions now incorporated into the Sophos family. Sophos already has an extensive range of products, although there is always room for more. Dan Schiappa, Senior VP and General Manager of Enduser Security & Network Security Groups at Sophos, likened the acquisition to the Avengers, saying “It’s great to have a group of heroes...
Sophos Launches Phish Threat Phishing Email Simulator
Leading cybersecurity firm Sophos has announced the launch of a new phishing attack simulation platform. Sophos Phish Threat is billed as the easiest-to-use phishing attack simulator on the market. Sophos claims the platform is easier to deploy, use and manage than any competitor’s product. Phishing has now become the number one threat to security. Organizations can invest heavily in technical solutions to prevent cyberattacks, only...
Sophos Anti-Virus False Positive Prevents Users from Using PCs
Over the weekend, Sophos Anti-Virus products detected a Trojan on users’ computers that prevented them from logging onto their Windows devices. The malicious file was winlogon.exe: a file used to login to Windows. Because the file was blocked and prevented from running, affected users were unable to login, rendering their computers useless. The detection was a false positive. The issue has now been corrected and most users are now...
Sophos Email Security Now Incorporated into Cloud Management Platform
The Sophos Central cloud-based management platform can be used to manage Sophos endpoint, mobile and wireless security products. Now Sophos has added its email security offering – Sophos Email – to the cloud management platform, allowing its customers manage all solutions through a single-pane-of-glass. The addition of Sophos Email to the platform makes the management of the solution much more straightforward for customers who have...
Sophos Adds Next Gen Sandboxing to Email Security Appliance
Sophos has announced a further update to its email security appliance to provide even greater protection against malware threats. The Sophos Email Appliance now includes the firm’s next generation sandboxing technology – Sophos Sandstorm. The sandboxing technology speeds up the detection of sophisticated cyber threats, improving detection rates and ensuring these threats are blocked and prevented from reaching end users’ inboxes....