SonicWall has unveiled a full suite of products and services purpose-built to empower and meet the evolving needs of Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and their customers with end-to-end cyber protection and profitable service expansion. At the core of this unveiling are new next-generation mid-range and high-end firewalls (NGFW) built for medium-sized businesses with embedded advanced threat protection.

These new offerings include Managed Protection Security Services (MPSS) Firewall Management with 24/7 monitoring that allows MSPs of any size to offer managed firewall services backed by SonicWall’s SonicSentry Network Operations Center (NOC) team. Delivered through the unified, cloud-native SonicPlatform, the service establishes a new industry standard by dramatically reducing cyber exposure, simplifying operations, and maximizing visibility, all backed by expert, always-on security teams and reinforced by a groundbreaking cyber warranty.

“SonicWall’s new standard for cybersecurity marks a pivotal moment in our evolution as an innovator expanding into a platform-based cybersecurity leader,” said SonicWall President and CEO Bob VanKirk. “As we continue to listen to our partners and evolve with their changing needs, we are consolidating fragmented tools into one secure, scalable, and smart platform. With this launch, we are bringing together industry-leading firewall threat performance, cloud-based ZTNA to replace legacy VPNs, co-managed NOC and SOC services and an industry-first cybersecurity warranty so MSPs have every tool they need to ensure the businesses they serve are safe in a scalable and cost-effective way.”

SonicWall is bringing together the tools MSPs need to deliver layered, AI-driven security, from next-generation firewalls and endpoint protection to secure remote access and advanced policy control, managed in one intuitive interface. Designed to eliminate fragmented tools and reduce operational complexity, SonicWall is making it easier than ever for MSPs to offer secure, scalable and smart solutions:

• Secure:
  • Gen 8 Firewalls (NSa 2800/3800): Mid-enterprise, high-performance NGFW built for more demanding SMB environments with advanced threat protection.
  • Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA): Raising the bar relative to implementation and ease of use with a one-click ZTNA connector for secure, simple, policy-based access with dramatically improved network performance and security versus legacy VPN.
  • Managed Protection Security Services (MPSS): Backed by the SonicSentry NOC team, the new MPSS bundle extends our partner’s bench with a team of network security professionals to ensure firewalls are configured, deployed and updated correctly to provide the best threat protection possible. MPSS is a must-have service from SonicWall that will fast become the industry standard for firewall management.
• Scalable:
  • NSM 3.0: SaaS and on-premises platform offering unparalleled visibility and efficiency with harmonized cloud/on-box management.
• Smart:
  • SonicPlatform: A unified, cloud-native platform for centralizing management of all SonicWall appliances, services, and third-party integrations.
  • SonicWall AI for Monitoring & Insight (SAMI): Embedded AI/automation to streamline management, speed resolution, and reduce alert fatigue.

“Over the past two years, we’ve focused on listening to our partners and addressing their challenges as cyberattacks accelerate, response times lag and cybersecurity solutions grow increasingly complex,” said SonicWall Chief Product Officer Peter Burke. “As a result, we have dramatically improved the features and scalability of our firewall management platform and integrated them into a unified platform for account, security and network management that should simplify use and make partners more efficient. By consolidating end-to-end management and delivering key capabilities for scale and security, we’re empowering partners to focus on growth, expanding their services, increasing profitability, and delivering greater value to their customers.”

The launch includes enhanced support through SonicSentry, SonicWall’s global Managed Extended Detection and Response (MXDR) team, and MPSS. Built for MSPs, these co-managed services allow them to profitably deepen their bench and extend their service capabilities with 24×7 monitoring, health checks, patch management, and optimized firewall deployment.

Security is no longer just about protection; it’s about trust and resilience. When combined with SonicWall’s partnership with Cysurance, SonicWall deployments can qualify for a tiered cyber warranty of up to $1 million, the industry’s first offering of its kind. Managed deployments through MPSS double the coverage for participating customers.

“SonicWall’s MPSS will allow MSPs to deliver top-tier security to customers without the burden of constant firewall management,” said Meriplex Channel Manager Greg Starr. “By offloading the complexities of firewall management, SonicWall partners will be able to deliver premium security services backed by 24/7 expert support and enhanced cyber warranty protection. This not only strengthens client trust but also opens new revenue opportunities for us as a partner, allowing us to scale and grow more efficiently.”

SonicWall’s next-generation solutions are designed with the unique needs of MSPs in mind:

1. Multi-Tenant Architecture: Manage multiple clients efficiently through one platform.
2. Flexible Subscription Licensing: Monthly/annual options support the MSSP model.
3. Ecosystem Integration: Seamless third-party integrations for operational efficiency.
4. End-to-End Coverage: From endpoint to edge, SonicWall delivers centralized protection and compliance.

“The Middle East, Turkey, and Africa region faces unique cybersecurity challenges as digital transformation accelerates across our diverse markets,” said Mohamed Abdallah, Regional Director META at SonicWall. “Our new solutions empower regional MSPs to deliver enterprise-grade protection while reducing complexity and operational overhead. The MPSS offering is particularly valuable for our partners who need to scale securely while maintaining profitability. With SonicWall’s unified platform approach and co-managed services, we’re enabling our META partners to stay ahead of evolving threats while focusing on business growth.”

Fawry, the leading company in electronic payment solutions and digital financial services in Egypt, has confirmed the efficiency and security of its electronic defences across all its platforms and all the services it provides electronically and has denied reports of cyber attacks on its systems. “There is no validity to any rumours circulating on social media pages claiming that Fawry has been subjected to attacks or information system breaches,” the company said in a statement.

A few hours ago, @falconfeeds.io, an X (formerly Twitter) handle that tracks cyber attacks had posted that Fawry was possibly a victim of ransomware as seen below:

LockBit #ransomware group has added 2 new victim to their #darkweb portal.

– Amber Hill Group🇨🇳
– Fawry 🇪🇬#China #Egypt #lockbit #databreach #cyberattack pic.twitter.com/LP9yFJJ12w

— FalconFeeds.io (@FalconFeedsio) November 8, 2023

At the time of publishing this news article, Fawry’s website was still offline.

In response to these claims, Fawry released a statement saying, “The company immediately conducted an investigation into its servers and live broadcast. Based on the tests conducted by the company, it has been found that the servers serving customers and banks have not been subjected to any breaches. The company also confirms that no financial or banking data of customers has been leaked. Furthermore, the company asserts that it adheres to the highest standards of cybersecurity in accordance with the requirements of global regulatory authorities.”

F5 is set to highlight a series of new solutions at GITEX Global 2023. Key developments in the spotlight include new multi-cloud networking (MCN) capabilities that extend application and security services across one or more public clouds, hybrid deployments, native Kubernetes environments, and edge sites.

The solutions represent the next evolutionary step for the F5 Distributed Cloud Services platform, which enables customers to easily integrate network operations, application performance optimization and troubleshooting, and visibility through a single management console.

The new offerings include Distributed Cloud App Connect, which provides an integrated stack approach through a single console to combine comprehensive app networking with full app security, faster provisioning, and ease of use. In addition, Distributed Cloud Network Connect makes it highly secure and simple to deploy connectivity across cloud locations and cloud providers.

The solutions come hot on the heels of F5’s 2023 State of Application Strategy (SOAS) report, which found that 85% of organizations operate distributed application deployments, spanning traditional and modern architectures and multiple hosting environments. “Distributed deployments add operational complexity and cost, obscure visibility, and increase the surface area for potential cyberattacks,” said Mohammed Abukhater, RVP for META at F5. “F5 can now deliver a platform-based approach that is cloud-agnostic and purpose-built to meet the needs of traditional and modern apps—all without increasing complexity or losing granular control and necessary visibility.”

F5 will also showcase its latest security capabilities, including new machine learning enhancements to provide F5’s cloud security portfolio with advanced API endpoint discovery, anomaly detection, telemetry, and behavioural analysis. “F5 customers can now strengthen their security posture with a continuously improving analysis engine and unified policy enforcement. These capabilities enable secure app-to-app communications through validated and monitored APIs, thereby reducing the time security teams spend correcting false positives and accelerating time-to-deployment for new services,” the company said.

Highlights include:

• Enhanced API Security Provides Greater Protection for Modern Apps. F5 delivers API auto-discovery, policy enforcement, and anomaly detection as part of a unified WAAP service, simplifying operations and enforcement through a single console for both app and API protection. Since static signature-based controls are insufficient for protecting API endpoints due to their dynamic, evolving nature, F5 Distributed Cloud API Security utilizes optimized machine learning for automatic API discovery, threat detection, and schema enforcement.
• AI as an Essential Element of App Security. F5 has introduced AI-driven web application firewall (WAF) capabilities, including unique malicious user detection and mitigation capabilities that create a per-user threat score based on behavioural analysis that determines intent. This enables security operations to choose between alerting or automatic blocking to mitigate an attack that would otherwise go undetected by static signatures. All traffic is monitored and proactive defences are applied based on malicious user behaviour that can be correlated across Distributed Cloud WAAP deployments. The new functionality also provides false positive suppression, making it easier to block bad traffic without accidentally blocking legitimate users, and streamlines operations by reducing the time necessary to enable specific app protections.

F5 is expanding its managed service offerings via:

• • Distributed Cloud WAAP Managed Services, enabling F5 customers to access the experience and expertise of the F5 SOC to manage WAF, bot defence, and DDoS protection. Through a shared console, customers have the ability to seamlessly move between a self-service or managed service model as the needs of their apps and approach to app security change.

• • Distributed Cloud Managed Service Portal, enabling F5 service provider partners to build and tailor their own managed service offerings based on the leading security capabilities of F5 Distributed Cloud WAAP. This approach lets partners manage Distributed Cloud WAAP on behalf of their customers without sacrificing visibility, resulting in new revenue sources and value-added services while extending the overall reach of the solution.

“F5 is increasingly standing out for its ability to secure apps in a multi-cloud environment,” said Abukhater. “On the one hand, you have networking players that have multi-cloud capabilities, but they don’t have security. Then you have security players that have capabilities in SaaS and in the cloud, but they are not multi-cloud. To get their security capabilities, you have to put your apps in their walled garden, which is not sufficient either because apps are more and more distributed to ensure the best performance. Digital services that don’t meet the expectations of end-users cost companies millions of dollars in lost sales. F5 was built to solve this problem.”

In other news set to inform the GITEX agenda, F5 NGINX has announced a new subscription option that adds enterprise-level capabilities and support to the hugely popular NGINX Open Source web server, which currently powers over 400 million websites. The Open Source Subscription is a bundle that includes enterprise support to navigate regulatory requirements, enterprise features to address a wide range of traffic management and identity use cases, as well as fleet management for risk reduction via simplified NGINX administration.

“NGINX Open Source is known as the developer’s Swiss army knife,” added Abukhater. “Whether you need a web server, reverse proxy, API gateway, Ingress controller, or cache, NGINX has you covered. However, there was one thing NGINX Open Source users kept telling us was needed: enterprise support. This is why we expect our subscription option to have a big and immediate impact across the world.”