What the Security Heartbeat Does
Much like the human heart keeps vital blood flowing from head to toe and everywhere in between in rhythmic fashion, the Security Heartbeat keeps all your Sophos products functioning on the same sheet of music. Why does Sophos use the term “heartbeat” to describe the cornerstone of its Synchronized Security? It seems simple enough. The Heartbeat pumps information between endpoints such as desktop and laptop computers, mobile phones and tablets, Sophos firewalls, and all other security products to form the Synchronized Security system.
You’ve probably heard of Security as a Service, also known as SaaS. Sophos has another abbreviation to remember: Cybersecurity as a System, or CaaS. The Security Heartbeat revolutionizes network security by allowing every component to talk to each other in the same language through the hub of Sophos Central, securely sharing information from each endpoint about your network health.
As we’ve noted before, Sophos puts an impressive suite of security hardware and software at your disposal, from XG Firewalls (which you can get free with a security subscription), to Intercept X Endpoint Protection, and a lot more in between. As an example, let’s spotlight a communication between an endpoint and firewall using the Security Heartbeat in a Synchronized Security system.
A Sophos Security Heartbeat Example
A laptop, running Sophos Endpoint virus and malware protection, identifies a malware attack. Sophos Endpoint uses the Security Heartbeat to let the XG firewall know that it’s been infected. The firewall immediately responds by isolating the laptop to prevent the malware from spreading across the network. In the meantime, Sophos Endpoint cleans up the affected device, then notifies the firewall when it’s back up and running smoothly.
The firewall then restores the laptop to the network, and all is right with the world again. To ensure the mistake can be avoided in the future, Root Cause Analysis caps things off by generating a detailed report of the incident, allowing you to identify weak spots that need to be addressed to be even better prepared for the next attack.
Real-Time Integration for Truly Unified Threat Protection
The best part? All this happens within seconds. Without the Security Heartbeat, this same process could take hours to complete, leaving your network in a state of limbo. Instead of becoming a weeks long crisis, an attack like the one above is barely a blip on the radar, and your organization keeps running smoothly.
Through integrated CaaS coordinated by the Security Heartbeat, Sophos Synchronized Security allows your network to:
- Discover – Identify Unknown Threats
- Analyze – Get Instant Insights
- Respond – Respond Automatically to Incidents
It Only Gets Easier
Another best part? You just need an XG Firewall to let the Security Heartbeat synchronize your security. You can add an XG firewall to your existing network or build your network security from scratch with an XG Firewall. Either way works! Get the XG Firewall that’s right for your network free by bundling it with a suite of next-gen security services.