Sophos, has announced new network security innovations designed to help organizations keep pace with the performance and security demands of the AI era. At the center is Sophos Firewall v23, alongside new XGS hardware, a standalone Sophos NDR offering, and enhancements across the broader network portfolio.
Together, they drive stronger AI-era network defenses through Sophos Fusion, the AI-Native Cybersecurity Defense System, further into the network, enabling organizations to succeed by delivering the performance and connected defenses they need today and into the future.
AI is changing both how organizations use their networks and how attackers target them. Users, applications, devices, cloud services, and AI systems are generating more traffic and machine-to-machine communication, while attackers can use AI to accelerate reconnaissance, exploitation, and lateral movement. Sophos research from the 2026 State of Ransomware report also underscores why early visibility matters: in India, 60% of organizations hit by ransomware had their data encrypted, above the 56% global rate. Network signals, such as firewall alerts, shared with other control points can help turn that visibility into coordinated containment before encryption occurs.
Sophos’ approach to securing AI-era networks rests on two pillars: performance that scales with rising demands and integrated defenses, rooted in Sophos Synchronized Security, that turn shared intelligence into coordinated protection. Sophos Fusion brings security across the broader environment, enabling control points to share information in real time and execute a coordinated response to threats.
“AI is raising the stakes for the network. Organizations need to support more encrypted traffic, applications, and automated activity while defending against attacks that can move faster and exploit gaps at greater scale,” said Daniel Cole, senior vice president of product management, Sophos. “Customers should not have to choose between enabling innovation and strengthening protection. This launch helps organizations keep pace with growing network demands while turning network visibility and intelligence into faster, coordinated defense through Sophos Fusion.”
Sophos Firewall v23 anchors the launch with enhancements that make it easier to manage, automate, and scale network security. Integration with Sophos AI Defense provides network-level visibility, reporting and policy enforcement for AI service use, including controls that help organizations sanction trusted generative AI tools and block unapproved services. A new AI Assistant helps administrators understand firewall configurations and draft rules for review, while a modern REST API supports greater automation for IT teams, partners, and MSPs.
The release also strengthens resilience and Sophos’ Secure by Design foundation. Hardware-aware high availability delivers 13X faster failover detection, reducing the detection window from four seconds to 300 milliseconds. Additional enhancements include DNS over HTTPS, DNSSEC, greater visibility into applied CVE hotfixes and security updates, and further platform hardening.
“As a CMMC Level 2 certified MSP supporting commercial organizations and highly regulated industries, including DoD contractors, we understand firsthand the importance of strong security and compliance. We leverage the same Sophos technologies within our own environment to meet our CMMC Level 2 compliance requirements that we deploy to protect our clients. The advancements in Sophos Firewall v23 and Xstream Plus, combined with the growing capabilities of Sophos Fusion, help us streamline operations, integrate with diverse technology environments, and deliver consistent, scalable security solutions. This allows us to lead by example, providing our clients with the same level of protection and security expertise we rely on ourselves,” explained, Paul Gibbs, VP of Managed IT, Velocity1.
“As our environment has grown, having one place to manage policies across firewalls, switches and access points has become increasingly important. Managing dozens of devices individually isn’t sustainable, and centralized management gives us a much simpler way to keep policies consistent across the network,” said, Aaron Carrier, Director of Infrastructure & Cyber Security, Fairstone Group.
