With more and more businesses moving applications and workloads to the cloud there can be some confusion about securing them adequately. DNA IT Solutions work with both Microsoft Azure cloud and Sophos security solutions to help provide the optimum solution for organisations.
Security in the Public Cloud
Microsoft Azure is public cloud and Microsoft works hard to protect the cloud infrastructure. They regularly monitor network traffic and will respond to security issues so you can have confidence in selecting this option. Azure manages security of the cloud but the security of your information in the cloud is up to you.
This is where Sophos can help.
Sophos provide solutions to help you properly secure your cloud environment. Sophos XG Firewall is available in the Microsoft Azure Marketplace. You can deploy XG Firewall on Azure to help provide the protection your data needs as it moves through Azure. Sophos XG Firewall gives you additional layers of security from the Azure Virtual Network through the application layer in a single modular solution. XG Firewall is available as a pre-configured, virtual machine in the Azure Marketplace. You can select XG Firewall, apply Azure Resource Manager templates, and easily deploy to your environment.
Defending Against Hacks and Attacks
Cybercrime is on the rise, Sophos and Microsoft Azure provide services that can help you meet your security, privacy and compliance requirements. The important thing to remember is that when you run your applications and workloads in the cloud you are also responsible for ensuring protection for those applications and workloads.
As with any infrastructure, whether on-premise or in the cloud, security should be a core functional requirement. Security policies and controls must be implemented to protect mission-critical information from accidental or deliberate theft, leakage, integrity compromise, and deletion.
Here are some questions to consider as a starting point:
• How is your data routed, and what kind of protection do you have for that routing?
• How is performance affected by implementing a security solution?
• Where does your data reside? Is it encypted? Who has access to it?
• What type of protection do you need? Web-layer, network-layer, both? More?
• Do you have protection in place for known threats? What about threat protection to identify and block unknown (zero-day) threats?
• Do you understand how your users behave in your cloud infrastructure? How do you identify and separate out risky users?
• What type of policy and rules are you using? Is there overlap or ineffective rules? How do you identify more effective ways to manage your security?
• Sophos has a network of partners capable of helping you think through security concerns in order to develop and implement controls and protections that are right for Sophos XG Firewall
Sophos XG Firewall on Azure combines mutiple security tools into one solution and is designed to prevent sophisticated attacks and advanced threats in the cloud while providing secure remote access to the Azure cloud for trusted users.
Sophos XG Firewall complements the infrastructure protection provided by Azure with many advanced management features and deployment capabilities including:
• Global deployment options, with the ability to establish separate XG Firewall instances in multiple countries.
• Sophos Firewall Manager software, which provides fast setup and a single console for the complete central management of the firewall.
• Built-in reports that tell you what’s happening with your users and your network.
• User Threat Quotient reports that show you which of your users are putting your Azure-based systems at risk.
• Pre-defined policy templates that let you quickly protect applications like Microsoft Exchange or SharePoint.
• Patented Layer-8 identity control, which enables user-level controls over applications, bandwidth and other network resources regardless of IP address, location, network or device.
Conclusion
Sophos XG Firewall is a “next-generation” firewall you can select and launch from within the Microsoft Azure Marketplace. XG Firewall deploys as an all-in-one solution that combines advanced networking, protections such as Intrusion Prevention (IPS) and Web Application Firewalling (WAF), as well as user and application controls. XG Firewall is designed to help you protect your Azure-based workloads against advanced threats.
For more information on this you can check out the Sophos website or speak with one of our experts that will explain how Sophos and Microsoft Azure may be the option for your business.