WatchGuard Technologies introduced its latest offerings, ThreatSync+ NDR and WatchGuard Compliance Reporting. The new products are designed to help businesses with smaller IT teams or limited cybersecurity resources by automating continuous threat monitoring, detection and remediation using advanced AI. This addition to the ThreatSync+ series aims to make comprehensive threat detection and response more accessible.
The ThreatSync+ NDR solution leverages a sophisticated AI engine incorporating a dual-layer neural network, a technological advancement derived from WatchGuard’s acquisition of CyGlass in 2023. This AI engine can analyze and prioritize threats, presenting anomalies like incidents assessed by risk. Managed service providers (MSPs) and IT security professionals can use an intuitive dashboard to focus on critical threats, review mitigation tips, and improve organizational protection.
Don Gulling, founder and CEO of Verteks Consulting, commented on the accessibility of the new tool: “WatchGuard ThreatSync+ NDR provides an additional layer of advanced protection that was previously out of reach. In the past, providing an NDR was difficult due to its complexity and high level of operation. Because WatchGuard’s cloud-based architecture requires no hardware installation or management, we can deploy ThreatSync+ NDR quickly, easily and cost-effectively for our customers.
ThreatSync+ NDR aims to detect attacks that have bypassed perimeter defenses, such as ransomware, vulnerability exploits, and supply chain attacks. It identifies these threats through network traffic analysis, even when attackers attempt to hide their activities. The system is capable of detecting different stages of an attack, including command and control communications, lateral movement within the network, and data exfiltration.
This new solution also promises rapid deployment with minimal complexity. Running in WatchGuard Cloud and compatible with WatchGuard Firebox firewalls, ThreatSync+ NDR does not require additional on-premises hardware. Its design aims to reduce the workload of already overburdened IT teams by automating security tasks and providing easy-to-navigate dashboards and reporting tools.
Ben Oster, vice president of product management at WatchGuard Technologies, highlighted the potential benefits for businesses of all sizes: “The launch of ThreatSync+ NDR is the latest example of WatchGuard’s continued focus on the opportunity for our partners to better protect their customers and expand their service offerings. ThreatSync+ NDR makes it extremely easy to bring the latest cybersecurity innovations to businesses of all sizes so MSPs can respond to the evolving threat landscape with enhanced defenses and create new service revenue streams.”
WatchGuard Compliance Reporting accompanies the NDR tool, providing a user-friendly framework for generating and automating compliance reports. This tool leverages ThreatSync+ NDR-enabled network controls, aligned with standards from organizations such as NIST, ISO, and CISA. Compliance reporting capability supports automated and manual reporting, covering numerous regulations including FFIEC, NIST-171, CMMC and GDPR.
The introduction of ThreatSync+ NDR marks an expansion of WatchGuard’s Extended Detection and Response (XDR) strategy, centralizing their products for information sharing across their unified security platform. This architecture is intended to enable comprehensive responses to cyber threats, with customers able to customize their XDR approach by integrating various ThreatSync+ products.
WatchGuard Technologies’ new offerings illustrate a continued effort to equip businesses of all sizes with advanced cybersecurity solutions, aimed at simplifying threat detection and response processes while improving compliance capabilities.
