What is Synchronized Security™?

Synchronized Security™ is the connective tissue that turns shared threat insights into coordinated action across Sophos Fusion. When one control point identifies a threat, the others act on it in seconds, without an analyst joining the dots first. It is a key component of Sophos Fusion, the Sophos AI-Native Cybersecurity Defense System, not a product you evaluate separately.

Do I need to buy Synchronized Security™?

No. It is not a product, a SKU, or an add-on, and there is nothing extra to license. You gain it automatically when two or more control points work together inside Sophos Fusion.

What do I need to get started?

Two or more control points working together inside Sophos Fusion. Sophos Endpoint and Sophos Firewall managed through the same Sophos Fusion account is a common starting point, and coordination between them is active as soon as both are connected, with nothing to configure. Use cases that build on the health state, such as a firewall rule or a Sophos Workspace Protection policy, are set up by you.

Does Synchronized Security™ work with non-Sophos products?

Yes. Coordination with a third-party control point starts by integrating that control point in Sophos Fusion, which supports 500+ third-party solutions. Many integrations are two-way, so Sophos Fusion can take telemetry in and push a response action back out. The response actions available vary from one control point to the next, depending on what the third-party vendor exposes.

Does Synchronized Security™ work with Microsoft?

Yes, and in both directions. Sophos has the most comprehensive Microsoft integrations that include telemetry from Entra ID, Graph API, O365 Management Activity, and more. The telemetry feeds the same unified context lake as Sophos control points. A suspicious sign-in surfaced by Microsoft can isolate a Sophos-protected endpoint, and Sophos Fusion can lock a compromised Microsoft account and unlock it once it is safe to use again.

What is the Security Heartbeat™?

Security Heartbeat communicates a device's health status from Sophos Endpoint to the other Sophos control points. Green is healthy, Yellow is potentially compromised, and Red is compromised. Sophos control points are built to act on that status, and the core responses need no setup once both control points are connected to the same Sophos Fusion account.

Does everything happen automatically, or can I keep a person in the loop?

That is your decision, control point by control point. Most responses run automatically. Where judgment is needed, your in-house team using Sophos XDR can trigger the same action manually, as can a Sophos MDR analyst. Some capabilities stay off until you turn them on. Active Threat Response in Sophos Firewall is one example, enabled by the customer rather than on by default.

What is Active Threat Response?

Active Threat Response is a Synchronized Security™ capability in Sophos Firewall. It uses the telemetry in the unified context lake to block a compromised or unauthorized device at the wired or wireless access layer, before it moves further into the network. Customers choose whether to enable it, so the decision to allow automated blocking at the access layer stays with you.

Can I write my own automations and playbooks?

Yes. Sophos XDR and Sophos MDR provide automations and playbooks that execute automatically across a wide range of use cases, and you can add your own where a default does not suit your environment. A customer running Sophos Endpoint decides for themselves what a compromised device means for their Fortinet firewall. Once written, those automations run inside Sophos Fusion like any other coordinated response.

What does Synchronized Security™ mean for a managed service provider?

Synchronized Security™ allows MSPs to have the same automation and coordination across every customer environment, including environments that mix Sophos and third-party control points. MSPs can also tailor the automation for specific customer requirements. Automated containment reduces manual triage and remediation overhead, which is what lets a partner take on more customers without adding operations headcount at the same rate.

How do I confirm Sophos Endpoint is coordinating with my firewall?

Open the Computer summary in Sophos Fusion. It shows the serial number of the Sophos Firewall receiving that endpoint's Security Heartbeat™.

Is Synchronized Security™ new?

Sophos first delivered Synchronized Security™ in 2015, a world first at the time, and has expanded it in the more than a decade since. What is shared between Sophos control points today is now considerably richer, and coordination now extends to third-party control points through the integrations in Sophos Fusion.

Synchronized Security™

Enabling your defenses to respond as one

Modern attacks span identity, email, endpoint, and network, exploiting gaps between disconnected defenses. Synchronized Security is the connective tissue in the Sophos Fusion defense system, enabling the Sophos and third-party control points you already run to deliver a coordinated threat response at every point.

88%

of ransomware deployed during non-business hours

_{Source: 2026 Sophos Active Adversary Report}

90%+

reduction in day-to-day admin with Synchronized Security

_{Source: Sophos}

89 sec

from alert to automated response

_{Source: Sophos MDR}

THE CHALLENGE

Attacks cross multiple surfaces. Most defenses cover one.

AI has turned single-vector attacks into multi-dimensional campaigns. Attacks now cross multiple surfaces in one coordinated, multi-stage effort, enabled by AI. Individual solutions see only their own domain, identifying seemingly disparate anomalies, and nobody connects them until the damage is done.

Attacks at machine speed

AI has increased the volume and velocity of attacks. Most defenses still run at human speed, with analysts moving between multiple consoles.

Alerts arrive in pieces

One control point only ever sees part of an attack, not the complete picture. Correlating those fragments manually costs valuable time that effective containment depends on.

Detection alone is not enough

Third-party products often report a problem and either simply alert or only consider protection as a secondary action, so investments you already made sit outside the response instead of driving it.

OVERVIEW

Coordinated response across every control point

Synchronized Security™ is the connective tissue that turns shared threat insights into coordinated action across Sophos Fusion. Containment happens automatically in seconds rather than after someone notices, and every control point you connect strengthens the response.

A compromised endpoint is isolated in seconds, before an adversary can move laterally or reach sensitive data.

Third-party control points contribute to the defense system, not just raise alerts.

Response runs automatically, so containment still happens overnight and at weekends.

Protection becomes easier to prove, because every coordinated response leaves an audit record.

Every control point added strengthens the defense, without more operational effort.

Investigations start with cross-layer context already assembled, not gathered by hand.

Introducing the Sophos AI-Native Cybersecurity Defense System.

Sophos Fusion

Synchronized Security™ is a key component of Sophos Fusion, the Sophos AI-Native Cybersecurity Defense System. See how the whole system sees everything, connects everything, and enables your defenses to respond as one.

Learn more about Sophos Fusion

SYNCHRONIZED SECURITY™ IN ACTION

Coordinated response across your environment

Every connected control point sends telemetry to Sophos Fusion’s unified context lake in real time. Related events are correlated into a single attack chain, triggering coordinated response actions across the environment. Most actions run automatically, based on the control points connected and the level of automation enabled.

Multi-layered attack

Modern attacks span identity, email, endpoint, and network, exploiting gaps between disconnected defenses.

Sophos XDR correlates related events from Sophos and third-party control points into a single attack chain. It then coordinates response across those control points through SOAR automation, playbooks, case management, and a broad range of response actions.

Compromised Microsoft 365 account

Identity abuse is the leading vector for ransomware attacks. Containing an endpoint does not eliminate the risk if the compromised account remains active.

Using telemetry from Microsoft solutions, Sophos XDR and Sophos MDR can automatically identify and lock compromised Microsoft 365 accounts, then restore access once the threat has been resolved.

Shadow AI

The browser sees pasted data The endpoint sees the application. The firewall sees the traffic. No single control point sees the whole picture.

Sophos AI Defense sees it all. It provides visibility across the environment and coordinates AI usage enforcement. Sophos EDR/XDR covers applications and websites, Sophos Firewall covers network traffic, and Sophos Workspace Protection covers the browser.

Lateral movement

Once inside an environment, adversaries move laterally to reach their target. The endpoint detects the initial compromise, but stopping the attacker requires a coordinated response across the network.

When Sophos Endpoint detects a threat, it sets the device’s Security Heartbeat health status to Red. Connected Sophos control points see and act on that status automatically. Sophos Firewall, Sophos Wireless, Sophos Switch, and Sophos Workspace Protection block network access, while Sophos Endpoint prevents healthy devices from connecting. Once the threat is remediated, the health status returns to Green and connectivity is automatically restored.

Malicious and unwanted apps

A firewall inspecting an unclassified connection on an unusual port sees little more than packets. The endpoint sees the application. Someone has to connect the dots.

Synchronized Security enables Sophos Firewall to identify the application behind the connection using intelligence from Sophos Endpoint. IT teams can then focus on response, not data.

Control at the networking edge

Switches and access points sit where your devices connect to the network, making them an effective control point for stopping compromised or unauthorized devices.

The Active Threat Response capability in Sophos Firewall enables Sophos Wireless and Sophos Switch to block devices at the access layer, helping contain threats before they can move further into the environment.

Speak with an expert

See what coordinated response looks like in your environment. A Sophos expert will walk through:

Which of your control points, Sophos and third-party, can coordinate today

What runs automatically, and what stays under human approval

How the response deepens as you connect more control points

Frequently asked questions

Synchronized Security™ is the connective tissue that turns shared threat insights into coordinated action across Sophos Fusion. When one control point identifies a threat, the others act on it in seconds, without an analyst joining the dots first. It is a key component of Sophos Fusion, the Sophos AI-Native Cybersecurity Defense System, not a product you evaluate separately.
No. It is not a product, a SKU, or an add-on, and there is nothing extra to license. You gain it automatically when two or more control points work together inside Sophos Fusion.
Two or more control points working together inside Sophos Fusion. Sophos Endpoint and Sophos Firewall managed through the same Sophos Fusion account is a common starting point, and coordination between them is active as soon as both are connected, with nothing to configure. Use cases that build on the health state, such as a firewall rule or a Sophos Workspace Protection policy, are set up by you.
Yes. Coordination with a third-party control point starts by integrating that control point in Sophos Fusion, which supports 500+ third-party solutions. Many integrations are two-way, so Sophos Fusion can take telemetry in and push a response action back out. The response actions available vary from one control point to the next, depending on what the third-party vendor exposes.
Yes, and in both directions. Sophos has the most comprehensive Microsoft integrations that include telemetry from Entra ID, Graph API, O365 Management Activity, and more. The telemetry feeds the same unified context lake as Sophos control points. A suspicious sign-in surfaced by Microsoft can isolate a Sophos-protected endpoint, and Sophos Fusion can lock a compromised Microsoft account and unlock it once it is safe to use again.
Security Heartbeat communicates a device's health status from Sophos Endpoint to the other Sophos control points. Green is healthy, Yellow is potentially compromised, and Red is compromised. Sophos control points are built to act on that status, and the core responses need no setup once both control points are connected to the same Sophos Fusion account.
That is your decision, control point by control point. Most responses run automatically. Where judgment is needed, your in-house team using Sophos XDR can trigger the same action manually, as can a Sophos MDR analyst. Some capabilities stay off until you turn them on. Active Threat Response in Sophos Firewall is one example, enabled by the customer rather than on by default.
Active Threat Response is a Synchronized Security™ capability in Sophos Firewall. It uses the telemetry in the unified context lake to block a compromised or unauthorized device at the wired or wireless access layer, before it moves further into the network. Customers choose whether to enable it, so the decision to allow automated blocking at the access layer stays with you.
Yes. Sophos XDR and Sophos MDR provide automations and playbooks that execute automatically across a wide range of use cases, and you can add your own where a default does not suit your environment. A customer running Sophos Endpoint decides for themselves what a compromised device means for their Fortinet firewall. Once written, those automations run inside Sophos Fusion like any other coordinated response.
Synchronized Security™ allows MSPs to have the same automation and coordination across every customer environment, including environments that mix Sophos and third-party control points. MSPs can also tailor the automation for specific customer requirements. Automated containment reduces manual triage and remediation overhead, which is what lets a partner take on more customers without adding operations headcount at the same rate.
Open the Computer summary in Sophos Fusion. It shows the serial number of the Sophos Firewall receiving that endpoint's Security Heartbeat™.
Sophos first delivered Synchronized Security™ in 2015, a world first at the time, and has expanded it in the more than a decade since. What is shared between Sophos control points today is now considerably richer, and coordination now extends to third-party control points through the integrations in Sophos Fusion.