Sophos and Check Point Partner to Protect Corporate Networks from Non-Compliant Mobile Devices

Leading cyber security company Sophos, and Check Point Software Technologies Ltd., the world leader in securing the Internet,today announced a partnership to provide integration between Sophos’ Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solution, Sophos Mobile Control (SMC) 4.0, and Check Point’s Mobile VPN.

The partnership means users of Sophos Mobile Control 4.0 and Check Point Mobile VPN can link the two solutions to provide network access control for any mobile devices attempting to use the corporate network.Non-compliant devices are isolated from the network, protecting the organization from unauthorized mobile devices. This ensures that only managed devices that meet an organization’s security policy may connect and use business resources.

Mobile devices continue to multiply rapidly in the workplace and today’s flexible working styles mean that, increasingly, employees are requiring and gaining access to the corporate network wherever they are. As a result of this surge in mobility, effectively securing both corporate data and networks has become an enormous challenge for IT and security managers. Much of an IT administrator’s day can be spent provisioning, securing, locating, managing and updating these mobile devices.

Sophos Mobile Control continually assesses the compliance status of each mobile device – detecting jailbreaks, blacklisted apps or insecure settings. Via a simple out-of-the-box interface with Check Point’s Mobile VPN, it blocks any non-compliant device from accessing the corporate network via VPN, proactively reducing the risk of data breaches.

“By integrating Check Point Mobile VPN with the mobile device management features of Sophos Mobile Control, IT departments can easily manage how mobile users access centrally-stored corporate resources, allowing them to regain control of their networks all through a simple interface,” says Alon Kantor, vice president of business development at Check Point Software Technologies. “Check Point’s partnership with Sophos provides our joint customers with a simple solution for the increasingly common problem of mobile network access control.”

“The rapid growth of mobile devices in the workplace combined with today’s range of threats means that mobile security is an increasing priority for many organizations,” says Ari Buchler, senior vice president corporate development at Sophos. ”We’re delighted to be partnering with Check Point to provide a simple solution to this complex problem, and to enable users of Sophos Mobile Control and Check Point Mobile VPN to keep compromised mobile devices off their networks. This integration demonstrates both companies’ commitment to meeting the needs of customers in the face of a continuously evolving threat landscape.”

Sophos Mobile Control 4.0
Sophos released Sophos Mobile Control 4.0 in May 2014. In addition to managing mobile devices, applications and email, it is the only EMM solution to offer file-level encryption, ensuring that each document connected to the server remains secure and that users can collaborate safely. Sophos Mobile Control also delivers robust, integrated security against malware and malicious web sites to protect against the rapidly-growing, nearly 1 million unique pieces of mobile malware seen by SophosLabs. In addition, Sophos is the only EMM vendor to offer categorical web filtering so organizations can control network performance and security by managing which websites their users can access. Available on premise or as-a-service, Sophos Mobile Control provides a simple and differentiated approach for organizations to manage and secure mobile devices, content and applications. Learn more about Sophos Mobile Control 4.0.

According to IDC, Sophos Mobile Control is the market leader among small and medium businesses in North America, with 25% market share. Sophos is also the only IT security company to be positioned as a Leader in all three of the following Gartner Magic Quadrants:Unified Threat Management (UTM), Mobile Data Protection and Endpoint Protection Platforms.

Integration with Check Point Mobile VPN

Check Point Mobile VPN application establishes a secure VPN (Virtual Private Network) tunnel to the corporate network infrastructure via a Check Point Security Gateway. By unifying Sophos Mobile Control and Check Point VPN gateways, IT departments can ensure that only compliant devices are allowed access to the corporate network. Compliance policies for corporate owned mobile devices reside on the Mobile Device Management Servers.

When a device attempts to connect to the corporate network, compliance is checked. This can prevent users from installing a VPN client on unmanaged devices and trying to access the organization. The Security Gateway can also block the unknown devices of valid users.