It\u2019s that time of year when many IT teams \u2014 and their trusted partners \u2014 are preparing to spend more time with family and friends and less time monitoring dashboards and consoles.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the holiday season is also a peak period for cyberattacks. To help ensure your customers\u2019 networks remain secure and resilient, here are a few quick best practices you can share and implement.<\/p>\n
For a full list of recommendations to protect against ransomware and other attacks, be sure to download our white paper on this topic<\/a>.<\/p>\n Before the holidays, make sure your customers\u2019 network infrastructure is fully updated with the latest firmware, and that any non-essential systems are taken offline. Any system exposed to the internet \u2014 either directly or indirectly (via NAT) \u2014 represents a potential vulnerability. Reduce that attack surface by disabling unnecessary services and updating everything that remains active.<\/p>\n Firmware updates often include critical security patches and hardening enhancements that improve overall protection. If your customers have other internet-facing infrastructure such as VPN concentrators or WAFs, verify those systems are also up to date or temporarily shut down.<\/p>\n Confirm that all access controls, portals, NAT rules, networked applications, IoT devices, and administration systems are either disabled or fully secured.<\/p>\n Sophos Firewall v22 introduces new security hardening capabilities<\/a> and a built-in Health Check feature<\/a> that compares configurations against best practices \u2014 making it easier for you to identify and address potential risks before they become issues.<\/p>\nUpdate Firmware and Shut Down Unnecessary Systems<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nIf your customers use Sophos Firewall<\/a>, ensure they\u2019re running the latest firmware and consider enrolling them in the early access program for Sophos Firewall v22<\/a>, which introduces enhanced security hardening features and a new Health Check to validate firewall configuration.<\/p>\nCheck Configuration Against Best Practices<\/strong><\/h2>\n