Telecom
Sophos Launches Sophos X-Ops to Help Organizations Better Defend Against Complex Cyberattacks
Sophos, a global leader in next-generation cybersecurity, has announced Sophos X-Ops, a new cross-operational unit linking SophosLabs, Sophos SecOps and Sophos AI, three established teams of cybersecurity experts at Sophos, to help organizations better defend against constantly changing and increasingly complex cyberattacks.
Sophos X-Ops leverages the predictive, real-time, real-world, and deeply researched threat intelligence from each group, which, in turn, collaborate to deliver stronger, more innovative protection, detection and response capabilities.
Sophos today is also issuing “OODA: Sophos X-Ops Takes on Burgeoning SQL Server Attacks,” research about increased attacks against unpatched Microsoft SQL servers and how attackers used a fake downloading site and grey-market remote access tools to distribute multiple ransomware families.
Sophos X-Ops identified and thwarted the attacks because the Sophos X-Ops teams combined their respective knowledge of the incidents, jointly analyzed them, and took action to quickly contain and neutralize the adversaries.
“Modern cybersecurity is becoming a highly interactive team sport, and as the industry has matured, necessary analysis, engineering and investigative specializations have emerged. Scalable end-to-end operations now need to include software developers, automation engineers, malware analysts, reverse engineers, cloud infrastructure engineers, incident responders, data engineers and scientists, and numerous other experts, and they need an organizational structure that avoids silos,” said Joe Levy, chief technology and product officer, Sophos.
“We’ve unified three globally recognized and mature teams within Sophos to provide this breadth of critical, subject matter and process expertise.
“Joined together as Sophos X-Ops, they can leverage the strengths of each other, including analysis of worldwide telemetry from more than 500,000 customers, industry-leading threat hunting, response and remediation capabilities, and rigorous artificial intelligence to measurably improve threat detection and response.
“Attackers are often too organized and too advanced to combat without the unique combined expertise and operational efficiency of a joint task force like Sophos X-Ops.”
Speaking in March 2022 to the Detroit Economic Club about the FBI partnering with the private sector to counter the cyber threat, FBI Director Christopher Wray said, “What partnership lets us do is hit our adversaries at every point, from the victims’ networks back all the way to the hackers’ own computers, because when it comes to the FBI’s cyber strategy, we know trying to stand in the goal and block shots isn’t going to get the job done.
“We’re disrupting three things: the threat actors, their infrastructure and their money. And we have the most durable impact when we work with all of our partners to disrupt all three together.” Sophos X-Ops is taking a similar approach: gathering and operating on threat intelligence from its own multidisciplinary groups to help stop attackers earlier, preventing or minimizing the harms of ransomware, espionage or other cybercrimes that can befall organizations of all types and sizes, and working with law enforcement to neutralize attacker infrastructure.
“While Sophos’ internal teams already share information as a matter of course, the formal creation of Sophos X-Ops drives forward a faster, more streamlined process necessary to counter equally fast-moving adversaries.
“Effective cybersecurity requires robust collaboration at all levels, both internally and externally; it is the only way to discover, analyze and counter malicious cyber actors at speed at scale.
“Combining these separate teams into Sophos X-Ops shows that Sophos understands this principle and is acting on it,” said Michael Daniel, president and CEO, Cyber Threat Alliance.
Sophos X-Ops also provides a stronger cross-operational foundation for innovation, an essential component of cybersecurity due to the aggressive advancements in organized cybercrime. By intertwining the expertise of each group, Sophos is pioneering the concept of an artificial intelligence (AI) assisted Security Operations Center (SOC), which anticipates the intentions of security analysts and provides relevant defensive actions.
In the SOC of the future, Sophos believes this approach will dramatically accelerate security workflows and the ability to more quickly detect and respond to novel and priority indicators of compromise.
“The adversary community has figured out how to work together to commoditize certain parts of attacks while simultaneously creating new ways to evade detection and taking advantage of weaknesses in any software to mass exploit it.
“The Sophos X-Ops umbrella is a noted example of stealing a page from the cyber miscreants’ tactics by allowing cross-collaboration amongst different internal threat intelligence groups,” said Craig Robinson, IDC research vice president, Security Services.
“Combining the ability to cut across a wide breadth of threat intelligence expertise with AI assisted features in the SOC allows organizations to better predict and prepare for imminent and future attacks.”
To learn more about Sophos X-Ops and its groundbreaking threat research, subscribe to the Sophos X-Ops blogs and follow Sophos X-Ops on Twitter.
Nokia has introduced the FastMile Gateway 4, a new 5G indoor gateway designed to deliver high-speed internet throughout the home, powered by Wi-Fi 7 technology.
A gateway is a device that connects to a 5G network and provides high-speed internet access to homes or businesses.
The disclosure was made in a statement by Nokia, which highlighted that the device features high-gain antennas and dual-band Wi-Fi 7 to optimise coverage and boost connection speeds.
The FastMile Gateway 4 supports four carrier aggregation and up to 300 MHz of bandwidth, helping operators improve network efficiency while ensuring seamless connectivity for users.
The new gateway is powered by Nokia’s Corteca software, which enables cloud-based Wi-Fi optimisation and supports industry-standard EasyMesh technology for better network management.
To simplify installation, the device comes with a mobile app that helps users identify the best location for setup.
With the FastMile Gateway 4, Nokia expands its 5G fixed wireless access portfolio, offering multiple Wi-Fi 7-enabled models to support different operator and consumer needs.
The launch underscores Nokia’s commitment to advancing 5G home connectivity, providing faster and more reliable internet solutions.
Shiv Putcha, director for Research and Consulting at GSMA Intelligence, stated, FWA has proven to be a spectacular hit in driving broadband access in the last mile around the world.
He said, “However, there are numerous end users, many with potentially unique requirements that need servicing. Nokia has the broadest portfolio today, with multiple FastMile gateway products that combine 5G FWA with dual-band WiFi 7 indoors.
“This, combined with Corteca management software, will help operators cater to multiple segments of demand.”
Dirk Verhaegen, general manager of Broadband Devices at Nokia, stated, “Using Fixed Wireless Access to connect end customers to the internet requires more than just one type of device.
“Our extensive FWA portfolio gives operators access to a wide range of Wi-Fi 7 devices tailored to meet their unique and diverse needs. Our portfolio is even stronger with the addition of the new FastMile Gateway 4, giving operators another power option to deliver fast, reliable FWA broadband to customers – no matter where they live.”
The senate has called on the federal government to take urgent action to address the rising cost of data services in the country.
This was sequel to a motion sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong (APC, Cross River South) during plenary.
Ekpeyong warned that the surge in data costs was a major setback for young Nigerians who depend on the internet for their livelihoods.
He argued that many young people use digital platforms for freelancing, e-commerce, content creation, and software development, making affordable internet access crucial to their economic survival.
“Telecommunication providers in Nigeria have recently increased the cost of data services by as much as 200%. A move that has placed significant financial strain on millions of Nigerians, especially young people who rely on the internet for their livelihood,” he said.
“Young Nigerians have embraced the digital economy, leveraging the internet for various income-generating activities including freelancing and remote work, direct marketing and social media management, e-commerce, content creation on various platforms, online training, software development, web design, mobile app creation, content creation of various platforms, online education, etc.
“The senate notes that young Nigerians have embraced the digital economy, leveraging the internet for their livelihood, leaving them heavily dependent on mobile telecommunications companies for internet access, and that the sudden and substantial increase in data cost threatens their economic survival and limits access to critical digital services.
“The senate is further concerned that the reasons provided by telecom providers for the data price hike, including high operational costs of favourable exchanges, are untenable, and appears that instead of addressing the root causes of the high cost of doing business in Nigeria, the burden is being unfairly transferred to end-users.
“Senate is aware that the high cost of doing business in Nigeria is driven by multiple challenges, such as increased operational risk and insurance costs.
“The senate believes that urgent government intervention is required to ensure that affordable internet access remains available to all Nigerians, particularly to the young Nigerians who are at the backbone of Nigeria’s digital economy.
“The senate accordingly resolves to urge the federal government to engage with telecommunication providers to review the recent increase in data costs and ensure the pricing remains fair and affordable for all Nigerians.”
Telecommunications operators had increased the cost of data and voice services following the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) approval of a 50% tariff hike, implemented on February 11, 2025.
Contributing to the debate, senator Victor Umeh (LP, Anambra Central) described the motion as timely, lamenting that apart from the hike in cost of telecommunications services, there were also a hike in the cost of electricity tariff and DSTV subscription.
“Something needs to be done fast, to regulate the high increases. Citizens have no other way to seek redress,” Senator Umeh said.
Senator Sadiiq Sulaiman Umar (APC, Kwara North), also said, “It’s very important to regulate this social crisis.”
In its resolutions, the Senate also asked the federal government to provide an enabling environment for doing business, as well as address the avalanche of challenges threatening businesses in the country.
The Senate also asked the federal government to consider making provisions for free internet hubs for young people to enhance their socio-economic well-being.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who presided over the session said the resolutions if implemented would assist young entrepreneurs who use internet for various businesses to grow.
Driven to extend digital and financial inclusion across Africa, MTN Group and Airtel Africa have entered into agreements to share network infrastructure in Uganda and Nigeria, while ensuring compliance with local regulatory and statutory requirements.
These sharing agreements target improved network cost efficiencies, expanded coverage and the provision of enhanced mobile services to millions of customers, particularly those in remote and rural areas who do not yet fully enjoy the benefits of a modern connected life.
MTN Group President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Mupita said operators on the continent were seeing sustained demand for data services: “As MTN, we are driven by the vision of delivering digital solutions that drive Africa’s progress.
We continue to see strong structural demand for digital and financial services across our markets. To meet this demand, we continue to invest in coverage and capacity to ensure high-quality connectivity for our customers.
That said, there are opportunities within regulatory frameworks for sharing resources to drive higher efficiencies and improve returns.”
Airtel Africa Chief Executive Officer Sunil Taldar said: “As we compete fiercely in the market on the strength of our brand, services and our offerings we are building common infrastructure, within the permissible regulatory framework, to provide a more robust and extensive digital highway to drive digital and financial inclusion at the same time avoiding duplication of expensive infrastructure to drive operational efficiencies and benefits for our customers.”
The initiative is part of a growing global trend toward network sharing. By collaborating, telecoms operators can explore innovative and pro-competitive solutions to improve service quality while managing costs more effectively.
The sharing of infrastructure has the potential to enable the delivery of world-class, reliable mobile services to more and more customers across Africa.
Following the conclusion of agreements in Uganda and Nigeria, MTN and Airtel Africa are exploring various opportunities in other markets, including Congo-Brazzaville, Rwanda and Zambia.
Among the types of agreements considered are RAN sharing and those aimed at establishing commercial and technical agreements for fibre infrastructure sharing and, if necessary, the construction of fibre networks.
MTN Group and Airtel Africa are dedicated to working with other mobile operators within the countries in which they have a presence to achieve the advantages of network sharing.
Throughout this process, the parties will continue to function as independent market entities and will compete freely in shared markets. This engagement does not preclude the parties from collaborating with other operators in any respective market.
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