FORTINET: INTEGRATED CYBERSECURITY SOLUTIONS FOR MODERN ORGANIZATIONS

The Integrator had an exclusive interview with Kalle Björn - Senior Director, Systems Engineering - Middle East at Fortinet at GISEC 2023

What are the key challenges that Fortinet will focus on addressing at GISEC 2023?

One of the key factors contributing to the challenges faced by organizations in today's market is work-from-anywhere environment. In recent years, organizations have undergone significant turmoil due to this. However, a promising solution to these challenges is the implementation of Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA). This approach focuses on ensuring secure access to corporate applications for users and devices, regardless of their location. Zero Trust network access verifies user and device identities, security posture of endpoints, and secures communication between endpoints and services. Another factor influencing the security landscape is the shift towards cloud-based solutions. This has presented additional security challenges, as traditional security measures were designed for on-premises data centers. However, with Zero Trust network access, data location is no longer a relevant factor, as the same level of security can be achieved regardless of whether data is stored in the cloud or on-premises.

What is the portfolio of cybersecurity solutions that Fortinet offers, and how can they be delivered?

Fortinet is a leading cybersecurity company that provides a range of solutions to address the diverse security needs of modern organizations. Our portfolio includes solutions for endpoint security, network security, cloud security, and more. One of their unique offerings is secure switching, which is a networking solution that includes security features such as intrusion prevention, antimalware, and content filtering. This approach integrates security into the networking solution itself, rather than being an add-on feature.

Over the past few years, there has been a convergence between security and networking, and Fortinet has been at the forefront of this trend. Rather than having separate teams for networking and security, the focus is on developing integrated solutions that provide both functionalities. This approach is becoming increasingly important as the demand for highperformance networks continues to grow. By integrating security into the networking solution, Fortinet can provide the throughput and secure performance that organizations require. Overall, Fortinet's approach to cybersecurity is to provide a comprehensive suite of solutions that address the full range of security needs.

What are you showcasing at GISEC?

Fortinet's product portfolio includes solutions such as FortiRecon which provides external visibility of corporate assets and additional features to identify website breaches and data theft. Another solution gaining attention is Zero Trust Network Access, which is easy to deploy as it utilizes existing Fortinet products and requires no additional licensing. Customers can migrate from traditional VPN solution to Zero Trust Network Access with ease. With these products, Fortinet offers a range of functionalities in a single platform to provide comprehensive security coverage.

Apart from the cybersecurity solution, what are other solutions and Products you are showcasing. Organizations struggle with managing the complexity of their networks and solutions, requiring skilled personnel to handle them. Fortinet offers a Certification program to provide cybersecurity training through its Network Security Expert (NSE), which includes free self-paced training formats. The program offers training material from basic to advanced levels and covers both vendor-specific and non-productrelated security training. As part of Fortinet’s progress to close the skills gap, the Fortinet Training Institute achieved the milestone of over 1 million NSE certifications issued in October 2022. The Fortinet Training Institute aims to provide professionals the opportunity not only to gain skills to ward off cyber threats, but also career growth opportunities, as leaders value certifications.

Internet of Things (IoT) and Operational Technology (OT) devices are becoming invaluable in modern times, as they allow organisations to improve their product and service quality, reduce operational costs and increase workforce productivity. A new forecast from IDC estimates that there will be 41.6 billion connected IoT devices, or “things,” generating 79.4 zettabytes (ZB) of data by 2025, while for enterprises in the manufacturing and logistics environment, OT-based automation has been invaluable for a number of years already. As OT, IT and IoT systems continue to converge, more proactive maintenance and critical infrastructure monitoring has been made possible and businesses are becoming increasingly agile.

However, many OT environments were designed with no intention of being connected to a wider IT environment and therefore threat analysis was never a top priority.

GAINING A CLEAR, SINGULAR VIEW

It is impossible to manage and protect what you cannot see, and visibility across IoT and OT networks is integral. Enterprises must ensure they have a clear view into the number of authorised (and unauthorised) devices across their IoT network, where these devices are located, whether they have the latest patches and how often they are utilised. It is also important to gain sight of which servers each device communicates with and whether any part of the chain may be vulnerable to malicious actors. In order to gain this level of visibility across systems with varying security capabilities, it is important that security issues are addressed within the network and not at each end-point.