Astaro Security Gateway version 8.2 establishes a new generation of UTM

Press release

Published August 11th, 2011 - 06:48 GMT

Al Bawaba

Astaro, a Sophos company and leading Unified Threat Management (UTM) provider, today announced the availability of version 8.2 of the Astaro Security Gateway (ASG). Chief amongst the over 60 new features or enhancements in version 8.2 are Application Control (Next Generation Firewall), Interactive Web Reporting and a new authentication agent. These new features and enhancements dramatically improve network performance while providing increased visibility and control over the network.

The new features and enhancements in version 8.2 provide organizations with the resources they need to meet the ever-changing challenges of securing a business network. The increased control and visibility will allow organizations to make better decisions based on the company’s unique needs and network usage trends.

“As technology changes, so too must the tools organizations use to control their networks,” said Jan Hichert, senior vice president, network security, Sophos. “With version 8.2 we once again ensure our customers can face current and future network and security challenges by offering the next generation of firewall technology - Application Control.”

Some of the new features include:

Astaro’s Application Control improves network visibility, blocks unwanted applications and empowers IT administrators to prioritize bandwidth usage. This information can then be used to make educated decisions that will have the most impact on the business; molding their security policy to precisely fit how their company uses the Internet.

The enhanced Interactive Web Reporting tool provides administrators with a superior user experience tailored to showcase information in a way they expect to see it. Administrators will be able to save customer filters and subscribe to periodical mail reports.

The Authentication Agent allows administrators to authenticate users by name instead of IP address. This provides increased control over access in profiles and makes reports easier to read.

The Astaro Security Gateway version 8.2 includes over 60 other enhancements or new features. These include, support for 3G/UMTS USB modems, Form Hardening for Web Application Security, Web Filtering Safe Search Enforcement, enhanced virtualization support, SNMP v3, weighted balancing for WAN Uplink and server load balancing, group0in-group support for network groups, SSID to Access Point assignment, rebootless reconfiguration of Access points and more. Additional information about features and enhancements can be found here: www.astaro.com/blog/up2date/ASG8200

In addition to the new features available in version 8.2 of the ASG, the newest edition of the flagship Unified Threat Management solution now includes a technical preview of Astaro’s upcoming Log Management product that is integrated into the Astaro Security Gateway and available for all users to try for free.

Background Information

Sophos

IT security products have become as complex as the networks they’re trying to secure. At Sophos we know that the solution to complexity is not more complexity. We tackle security challenges with clarity and confidence, knowing that simple security is better security.