The advanced version for Sophos Central Email has been a long time coming. One and a half years later than planned, the advanced version will be launched and will add important functions to the standard version.

Sophos Sandstorm

Sophos Sandstorm as a product is nothing new, but as a new feature in Sophos Central Email Advanced it is definitely worth mentioning! If you are already scanning your email with a UTM, XG or email appliance, Sophos Sandstorm has been available as an add-on product since 2016. You can read all about Sophos Sandstorm in the following blog post: Sophos Sandstorm: With sandboxing against zero-day maleware and APTs

However, there is something that has changed about Sophos Sandstorm since 2016. The SophosLabs data centres used by Sophos to scan email attachments are now using machine learning from Intercept X to detect malware even better.

Time-of-Click URL Protection

A really new and very useful feature is the “Time-of-Click URL Protection”. This feature is Sophos’s response to the problem that malware often no longer hides directly in emails because it is detected there too early. Instead, you’re more tempted to click on a link that takes you to a website where the surprise is waiting for you. Time-of-Click URL Protection follows the URLs when scanning these emails and first checks the target web page before forwarding the email to your mailbox.

Of course, a modern browser in combination with Intercept X, which protects against exploits, could also help here. But it is even better, of course, if the emails are already blocked before they land on the server.

Standard version also gets new features

If you already use Sophos Central Email Standard, you can look forward to three new and completely free features. On the one hand you can now determine that emails are only accepted by trusted senders who have implemented SPF, DKIM or DMARC. You’ll also get multi-policy support and outbound mail scanning. 🎉

Forced Upgrade for Monthly Licenses

We never really wanted to get into this situation, but Sophos threw us in at the deep end. Some of you may know that Sophos has two licensing models. You can either buy the licenses for 1, 2 or 3 years or pay for them monthly. The monthly model, which we no longer offer publicly for various reasons, is billed monthly based on the usage.

On 20 May 2018, as a Sophos partner, we were asked whether we only wanted the Standard or Advanced, or both, for the monthly model. Our answer, as well as that of 90% of the other partners, was quite clear: both versions! After that, we didn’t hear anything.

On 29 June 2018, we were informed via Sophos newsletter that all standard licenses in the monthly (MSP) model will automatically switch to Advanced and there will no longer be a standard version. The changeover will take place from 30 June to 1 July.

So we were informed 3 hours before the weekend that our customers will have to pay more in the future.

More information

• Product page: Sophos Central Email
• Data sheet: What’s new in Sophos Email
• Data sheet: Sophos Email - Product and Licensing Overview