Leading specialists in network security solutions scoop top UK prize from vendor.
CAMBRIDGE, UK, May 23, 2013 – At the recent Sophos EMEA Partner Conference in Athens, Greece, network security solutions provider Foursys was presented with the Sophos ’Partner of the Year‘ award. Given in recognition of outstanding sales, commitment and high standards of technical support and services offered to customers throughout the UK, the award was one of two collected by Foursys at the conference, as they also scooped the prize for ‘Public Sector Partner of the Year 2013’.
Jonathan Bartholomew, Sophos UK Channel Manager, said: “Foursys richly deserves these awards. At Sophos we are focused on creating opportunities for the channel and Foursys has consistently provided high quality service to its customers, backed by excellent technical skills, to deliver the best security solutions within budgets. This approach has brought Foursys continued success in both private and public sector markets and these awards are recognition of that continued success.”
Paul Prior, Foursys Ltd managing director, said: “We’re delighted to be recognised with Sophos’ most prestigious partner award. Foursys has worked with Sophos and their security solutions since 1999, and we have integrated their products into an array of customers up and down the country, ranging in size from 5 pc’s to 120,000 pc’s.”
“With a complete security offering that’s becoming deployable and manageable from the cloud, Foursys will be introducing more Sophos solutions to our customers, investing even further in technical staff and strengthening our relationship in the coming years.”
These awards are the latest in a long line of accolades for Foursys. The company has been declared UK & Ireland Partner of the Year by Sophos an impressive 11 out of the last 12 years, as well as having secured the Public Sector Partner of the Year prize for a fourth year in a row.
Paul Prior, Foursys MD, receives the UK Partner Of The Year Award at the Sophos EMEA Partner Conference Gala Dinner in Athens.
Data loss is a hot topic right now for every IT department up and down the country. We want to help you uncover any potentially damaging leaks, before they happen, by offering a free Data Leakage Assessment worth £1,800.
We send one of our DLP qualified engineers to your site for a day to set up one of the industry's most powerful DLP engines and we switch it to monitor only mode. Two weeks later he returns and writes up a report, detailing potential risks, and feeds this back to you with his recommendations on how to improve these weak spots.
What you will receive:
DLP qualified engineer on-site for two days; data monitoring for two weeks
A full report with a remediation plan and recommendations
Fully tailored to your organisation's data policies
Performed by award-winning network protection specialists
Foursys announced today that it has entered into a partner agreement with ForeScout, a Gartner Magic Quadrant leader in Network Access Control (NAC) technology. The partnership will offer the opportunity for Foursys customers to use award-winning network visibility and access controls to further enhance their IT security of their customers.
“ForeScout is an expert in NAC and BYOD security products that are simple to deploy and manage” says Paul Prior, MD at Foursys. “They have recently been recognised by Gartner as a leader in NAC technology and this was a major factor in selecting ForeScout as a strategic partner for Foursys. Their 100% channel-only approach and partner programme gives the relationship a strong foundation that ensures the ForeScout proposition remains complementary to our own business model.”
Foursys will be offering their full professional service portfolio for ForeScout products which includes project design, scoping , installation, support and training. Together the Foursys and ForeScout offerings enable organisations of all sizes to accelerate productivity and connectivity by allowing users to access corporate network resources where, how and when needed without compromising security. ForeScout’s real-time network security platform for access control, mobile security, endpoint compliance and threat prevention empower IT agility while pre-empting risks and eliminating remediation costs.
“We’re delighted to have Foursys as a ForeScout partner” says Peter Batchelor, UK&I Regional Manager at ForeScout. “By deploying ForeScout CounterACT technologies Foursys customers will immediately start to see real-time visibility of their network and support plans to allow users to bring their own devices (BYOD) onto the network.”
It's back! Our latest IT security brain-busting puzzle that requires logical, creative and technical brain cells to complete. This time Matt Ford our sales engineer who carries out our Sophos Training Courses has set the bar high. In return for attempting and correctly deciphering our riddle we give one lucky winner a star prize. Our prize is the type of thing every techie has always wanted but could never part £200 of your hard earned money for.
Good luck, if you need any help send us an SOS tweet to @foursysltd and we'll come to your rescue.
The Prize:
Logicom SPY-C Tank The tank creates its own 60m WiFi that you control from your iOS or Andriod device. The camera, which can be tilted through 45° beams the live image straight back to you and can be recorded directly on your device. It even has night vision and a walkie-talkie function allowing you to hear everything your tank does and to interact!
Everyone who successfully completes the puzzle will be entered into the prize draw to win the Logicom SPY-C Tank.
The Puzzle:
Take what you see from this very page White noise, perchance, will reveal the first stage From there you might begin to see The code you need, revealed to thee
Hidden amongst the wall of script Directions to a hidden crypt Open this tome with what you've found You'll then have covered plenty of ground
Take note of what the sage will speak Spliced between, the payload you seek Once you feel you have the code To crack it, find the appropriate mode
You may feel the need to start from scratch and return to see the Initial batch of text upon the page you view and reveal the secret word to you
The closing date for entries is Tuesday, April 30th.
People who have completed this puzzle:
Thu 4th April - Jamie Green, Carter-Ruck Solicitors Fri 5th April - Steve Worswick, Selby District Council Mon 8th April - Richard Walker, Calderdale Council Mon 8th April - Dale Grant, East Ayrshire Council Mon 8th April - Martin Ronald, East Ayrshire Council Thu 11th April - Nick Brown, AIM Aviation Thu 11th April - James Thomas, AIM Aviation Fri 19th April - Daniel Thomas, Prion Cutting Edge Thu 25th April - Graham McCallum, Rother District Council Fri 26th April - Anthony Stretch, Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service
And the winner is:
Now, it might seem like a fix but the first name out of the hat from the 10 names that went in was in fact the first player to successfully complete the puzzle Jamie Green from Carter-Ruck Solicitors! Congratulations Jamie, the Logicom SPY-C Tank is on its way to you as I type.
Foursys would like to thank everyone that attempted the puzzle and congratulate the names above who completed the puzzle - it was no mean feat! For the many of you that failed to solve the riddle this is how it's done, straight from the guy who set the puzzle, Matt Ford:
We love receiving feedback here at Foursys and it’s always nice when a long standing customer of ours sings our praises for our scheduled Sophos training course. We hold them quarterly all over the country and here is what Nigel Rose, a network engineer from Pickerings Europe, had to say about them:
“Both Michael and I were extremely happy with the course, to courses content and the delivery of the course.
Matt was extremely professional, he put Michael and myself at ease, we went at a pace that suited us. The end result was a course that was informative, well delivered and relaxed. We really could not have hoped for a better outcome.
Please pass on our thanks to Matt for a relaxed, informative, enjoyable and professionally delivered course.”
We are off spreading our knowledge of Sophos Endpoint again and this time we are heading to Birmingham on Thursday, May 16th 2013 and also Cambridge on Thursday, April 18th 2013.
We’ve invested in five brand new laptops so we can speedily turn you into a super Sophos Endpoint Administrator by the end of the day.
Our industry leading security technician will teach you and/or your team all the key aspects of running Sophos Endpoint on a day-to-day basis. Learn how to troubleshoot, support and get the most out of your Sophos solution.
You will complete a series of labs throughout the day that will give you hands on experience of configuring ‘live’ systems with Sophos Endpoint and we will give you a training manually that you use on the day and also be taken away with you that you can refer back. We will even present you with a certificate for completing the course. What is more, if there is anything specifically that you want to focus on, let us know and we’ll include it in the course at the appropriate time.
Infosecurity Europe 2013 is just 6 weeks away, are you going? If you are why not meet us for a free pub lunch just two minutes walk from Earls Court exhibition centre? It doesn’t even have to be lunch – turn up for a chat, coffee or advice. Or do all three if you like!
Our award-winning security-savvy team will be both at the pub and attending the show all designed to help you get the most out of Infosec 2013.
If you’re planning on attending the show then sign up to the guest list so you can turn up at The Pembroke pub at your own convenience – all on us. We hope to see you there!
The end of 2012 is imminent and Christmas will soon be upon us. We would like to take the time to say a big thank you to our customers and suppliers for your continued support this year, we look forward to working alongside you in 2013.
For those of you, like us, that will be working over the Christmas period, please find below our Christmas hours of business.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year from all at Foursys!
Microsoft is releasing Windows 8, the newest version of the Windows operating system, for general availability tomorrow. Although Windows 8 offers enhanced security features, it also raises new security concerns because of changes to the graphical user interface and a new online app store. We’re offering the following eight security tips to help you stay secure as you move to Windows 8.
1. Exercise caution with apps for the new Windows 8 user interface (formerly known as Metro)
Some familiar applications have been completely re-written for the new Windows 8 UI. As a result they may work completely differently, despite looking the same. For example, an application historically delivered as an executable could now be entirely web-based. This impacts the visibility your existing security and monitoring tools have into these apps.
2. Use the Windows 8 style UI version of Internet Explorer
By default, plugins are disabled, blocking a major target for exploit kits and Blackhole attacks.
3. Make sure your security vendor can flag malicious Windows 8 UI apps
Windows 8 UI apps have important differences from regular applications, and your security product should be able to distinguish the two. The security product should correctly flag malicious or modified Windows 8 UI applications (tampered, modified, invalid license).
4. Disable hard drive encryption hibernation
Hard drive encryption is a cornerstone of data protection. If possible, disable the hibernation option in Windows 8 through group policy, as it doesn’t always work well with encryption.
5. Make sure your hardware carries the “Designed for Windows 8” logo
To carry this logo, hardware must be UEFI compliant. This means you can take advantage of the secure boot functionality available in Windows 8. Secure boot is designed to ensure the pre-OS environment is secure in order to minimize the risk from boot loader attacks.
6. Make application control a priority
The Windows 8 app store makes application control increasingly important for both malware prevention and productivity control. While the Windows Store will be secured, history shows that malicious apps are likely to slip through. Disable the use of apps that aren’t relevant to your organization.
7. Treat Windows RT (ARM) devices like any other mobile devices
Make sure you impose the same security levels on Windows RT devices as all others. You should have the ability to control, track, remote wipe and encrypt them.
8. Review application permissions in the Windows Store
Applications in the Windows Store must list any resources they require. Carefully review these permissions in the details tab as some will grant access by default to your location information, calendar, etc.
You should still run a full security suite for superior filtering and centralized management and reporting. While Microsoft has included a minimalist antivirus and firewall, most organizations will still require commercial-grade security. And of course, all the old security rules also apply with Window 8. It’s still a bad idea to allow automatic log-on. Above all, remain vigilant.
Award winning network protection specialist Foursys has announced that it has become the first Platinum Solution Partner globally for IT security vendor Sophos. “The accreditation, the first of its kind, displays our expertise and commitment to Sophos” said Paul Prior, Foursys Managing Director, “We invest a lot in training our staff to industry leading levels so we can provide unrivalled support and technical knowledge and achieving this reward so quickly reflects this”.
Sophos unveiled its new comprehensive Partner Program in July this year, offering partners more hands-on programs, partnership tracks, certifications, and new incentives. Unlike traditional partner programs, the Sophos Partner Program is designed to accommodate different business models with partnership tracks for resellers and solution providers. Partners can therefore select the partnership track that best fits their individual business goals and needs. Providing additional services is a core strength for Foursys, so Sophos’ solution provider accreditation was a natural direction for them to take. As such, the network protection specialist has become Sophos’ very first Platinum Solution Partner, the highest accreditation possible.
Jonathan Bartholomew, Channel Sales Manager for Sophos UK&I, said “I am delighted to see Foursys achieving this accreditation. It should open the doors to more opportunities and reinforces their position as a trusted security adviser. Platinum solution status is the highest level of Sophos technical accreditation and sales education. Achieving it demonstrates an increase in Foursys’ level of commitment and knowledge, invaluable when supporting customers in Sophos products. Congratulations to the team.”
He continued: “Sophos strives to understand what partners are really looking for and the evolution of the partner program is designed to create and maintain long-term relationships that ensure Sophos partners have confidence in positioning our technology. Becoming accredited as a Platinum solution partner allows partners to provide customers with additional services. The Partner Program allows partners to maximise margin through the consistency and credibility of the deal registration and incumbency programs. Plus, as Sophos continues to invest in and acquire new technologies, there are clear opportunities to revisit customers. Sophos’ complete security focus also means partners can maximise service revenue off the back of product/solution sales.”
The Cambridge-based company has been Sophos’ UK Partner of the Year from 2001 to 2011 and is continually recognised for their ongoing commitment to Sophos and willingness to engage across many areas of the business proactively.
Leading specialists in network security solutions scoop top UK prize from vendor.
Data loss is a hot topic right now for every IT department up and down the country. We want to help you uncover any potentially damaging leaks, before they happen, by offering a free Data Leakage Assessment worth £1,800.
It's back! Our latest IT security brain-busting puzzle that requires logical, creative and technical brain cells to complete. This time Matt Ford our sales engineer who carries out our 
We love receiving feedback here at Foursys and it’s always nice when a long standing customer of ours sings our praises for our scheduled Sophos training course. We hold them quarterly all over the country and here is what Nigel Rose, a network engineer from Pickerings Europe, had to say about them:
We are off spreading our knowledge of Sophos Endpoint again and this time we are heading to Birmingham on Thursday, May 16th 2013 and also Cambridge on Thursday, April 18th 2013.
The end of 2012 is imminent and Christmas will soon be upon us. We would like to take the time to say a big thank you to our customers and suppliers for your continued support this year, we look forward to working alongside you in 2013.
Microsoft is releasing Windows 8, the newest version of the Windows operating system, for general availability tomorrow. Although Windows 8 offers enhanced security features, it also raises new security concerns because of changes to the graphical user interface and a new online app store. We’re offering the following eight security tips to help you stay secure as you move to Windows 8.
Award winning network protection specialist 
