Sophos launches Firewall v23 and standalone NDR offering

Sophos, a cybersecurity company headquartered in Oxford, U.K., introduced network security innovations intended to help organizations meet the performance and security demands of the AI era. The launch centers on Sophos Firewall v23 and extends Sophos Fusion further into the network.

AI is changing how organizations use their networks and how attackers target them. Traffic from users, applications, devices, cloud services, and AI systems is growing, while attackers can use AI to speed reconnaissance, exploitation, and lateral movement. Sophos cites its 2026 State of Ransomware report, in which respondents noted a firewall alert before data was encrypted in 61% of ransomware attack events.

Sophos Firewall v23 integrates with Sophos AI Defense, providing network-level visibility, reporting, and policy enforcement for AI service use, including controls to sanction trusted generative AI tools and block unapproved services. An AI Assistant helps administrators understand firewall configurations and draft rules for review, and a REST API supports automation for IT teams, partners, and MSPs. Hardware-aware high availability cuts failover detection from four seconds to 300 milliseconds, 13X faster.

Four new XGS Series 1U appliances deliver up to 4X higher protected throughput than earlier 1U models, with up to 59 Gbps threat protection throughput. A standalone NDR offering combines behavioral detection with deep packet inspection and IDS/IPS, and its Active Inline mode can drop identified malicious packets. Xstream Plus, a new licensing option, bundles Xstream Protection, Workspace Protection licenses, and extended reporting retention.

“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.

Sophos Firewall v23, Xstream Plus, and the new XGS hardware models are now generally available. Sophos NDR will be generally available from November 10, and availability, licensing, and regional exceptions may apply.