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WatchGuard brings new unified threat management appliances to SMEs
Thu, 7th Oct 2021
FYI, this story is more than a year old

WatchGuard Technologies has released its new Firebox M290, M390, M590, and M690 unified threat management appliances.

Designed for small and midsize businesses, the firewalls deliver increased security and faster performance when compared to previous mid-range Firebox appliances, and have the processing power to handle encrypted and HTTPS traffic, the company states.

In addition, new expandable ports and integration with WatchGuard Cloud enable these firewalls to offer the flexibility needed to accommodate changing networking and security needs for customers and service provider partners.

According to the company, users can deploy the new Fireboxes easily, and manage and create policies from WatchGuard Cloud.

Service providers can share configurations across multiple appliances and clients via templates and deploy appliances remotely from the cloud, the company states.

A cohesive 30-day view of log data, fast log search and automated reporting greatly increases visibility. In addition, the new Firebox appliances integrate with other solutions across the WatchGuard portfolio, including AuthPoint multi-factor authentication, WatchGuard Wi-Fi Access Points and ThreatSync endpoint-network telemetry to simplify traditionally complex security management.

According to WatchGuard, the new Firebox M290, M390, M590, and M690 appliances offer key enhancements, including being:

Faster and more powerful: Each appliance has been designed to optimise HTTPS content inspection throughput, which is key in detecting malware of today.

Flexible and future-proof: The ability to add module expansion bays and available expansion modules allows for customised port configuration to meet current needs while ensuring the flexibility to adapt as the network evolves.

Optional POE+ ports (M590/M690 only) enable users to connect and power other devices, such as security cameras or WatchGuards USP Wi-Fi Access Points.

Easy to deploy and manage: WatchGuard Cloud enables deployment, monitoring, reporting, and device management from the cloud.

RapidDeploy makes deployment requires users to power up the appliance and connect it to the internet. The rest can be taken care of remotely from any location.

Reliable: Redundant power supplies ensure maximum availability (Firebox M590 and Firebox M690 only).

WatchGuard CSO Corey Nachreiner says, “As the threat landscape evolves, performance and flexibility are both critical for organisations looking to secure their network. Our recent Q2 2021 Internet Security Report found that more than 91% of malware attacking networks is encrypted.

"It's therefore essential for small and midsized organisations, or the partners servicing them, to have security solutions capable of processing encrypted traffic without negatively impacting overall performance.

"Our new mid-range M Series appliances deliver this capability and provide tools to simplify the deployment and ongoing management of these solutions as part of our WatchGuard Unified Security Platform.