New Features for Network Security Manager, SonicWall's Firewall Management Platform

SonicWall has enhanced Network Security Manager (NSM) with new features, a centralized platform for firewall management. The goal is to simplify management for system administrators while providing greater visibility into the infrastructure.

New Features of Network Security Manager

SonicWall has introduced two tools in NSM to identify some of the most common issues in security management.

• Credential Auditor automatically detects passwords and access keys associated with compromised or publicly exposed credentials, allowing IT managers to replace them before they can be used to access corporate systems.
• Config Auditor, on the other hand, checks for incorrect configurations, settings that do not comply with internal policies, and potential vulnerabilities that could enlarge the attack surface. The checks are performed through a centralized console, from which administrators can monitor the status of the infrastructure and intervene on affected devices.

This approach is especially designed for organizations managing numerous firewalls distributed across sites, branches, and remote environments, where maintaining consistent configurations can become complex and operational errors risk going unnoticed.

NSM also allows for the centralized deployment of new firmware versions and security updates across multiple devices simultaneously. This feature reduces the number of manual operations, simplifies maintenance tasks, and limits the risk that parts of the infrastructure remain protected by outdated software versions. These enhancements fall under SonicWall's Secure by Design approach, which aims to integrate security controls into routine network administration activities rather than only responding after a problem is detected.

The platform also includes analysis and reporting tools designed to transform data collected from firewalls into actionable insights. The Security Assessment Report provides a structured snapshot of security posture, highlights the most exposed areas, and helps IT teams identify intervention priorities. The information produced can be used to strengthen defenses as well as support compliance and reporting activities.