Fortinet develops and sells cybersecurity solutions, such as physical firewalls, antivirus software, intrusion prevention systems, and endpoint security components. The Integrator engages Alain Penel, Regional Vice President – Middle East at Fortinet to discuss the company’s capacities to help enterprises against cyberattacks.

Speak about Fortinet’s capacities to offer comprehensive protection for enterprises in times of rising cyber attacks

To fight today’s evolving threats, organizations should look into a security platform based on a cybersecurity mesh architecture with security solutions that are designed to work together. A cybersecurity mesh architecture integrates security controls into, and across, widely distributed networks and assets. Defenders will need to plan now by leveraging the power of AI and machine learning (ML) to speed threat prevention, detection, and response. Advanced endpoint technologies like endpoint detection and response (EDR) can help to identify malicious threats based on behavior. Also, zero-trust network access (ZTNA) will be critical for secure application access to extend protections to mobile workers and learners, while Secure SD-WAN is important to protect evolving WAN edges.

Together with the Fortinet Security Fabric, organizations can benefit from an integrated security platform that secures all assets on-premises, in the data center, and in the cloud or at the edge.

What advice do you give to enterprises to secure their network and reduce vulnerabilities?

Today’s threat environment is constantly changing, and from distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks to ransomware, the frequency, volume, and sophistication of cyberattacks show no signs of slowing down. Every organization, from small businesses to the largest enterprises and service providers, in every industry, requires network security to protect critical assets and infrastructure from a rapidly expanding attack surface.

Organizations need to develop a Security-driven Networking strategy that tightly integrates an organization’s network infrastructure and security architecture, enabling the network to scale and change without compromising security operations. This next-generation approach is essential for effectively defending today’s highly dynamic environments – not only by providing consistent enforcement across today’s highly flexible perimeters but by also weaving security deep into the network itself.

SMEs face large-scale cyber threats than large enterprises. How can they defend their physical and cloud networks? What are the solutions Fortinet offers to them in order to protect their digital ecosystem?

SMEs struggle to implement strong, holistic security across their business for a variety of reasons and too often rely on piecemeal security cobbled together with multiple vendors’ point products that do not operate cohesively. Ultimately, this results in inflated costs and stagnating growth, as investing in technology that would help the business be more productive is delayed by security. Cybersecurity for SMEs must therefore be simple, cost-effective, and easy to deploy.

Fortinet’s small and mid-size business security solutions deliver a path to complete protection. Clear ROI is delivered without sacrificing security with tight integration, automation, and visibility across the entire cybersecurity footprint to improve effectiveness, reduce cycles, and scale as the company grows. Cloud-based, centralized management simplifies ongoing operations with business-driven rules and policies so businesses can quickly consume new technology while keeping the business safe from attack.

Give insights into the partner collaboration Fortinet has made globally in the last two years

Fortinet is committed to helping partners be able to meet new and changing customer demands created by the work-from-anywhere models through Fortinet’s Engage Partner Program and enablement tools for partners.

As an example, last year Fortinet introduced new Specializations focused on high growth areas with additions, including “zero trust” access, operational technology, and security operations. Specializations help partners further distinguish their expertise among current and potential customers as trusted partners who have the knowledge, services, and technologies to fulfill customer business needs.

Elaborate on Fortinet’s business strategies in the Middle East?

In the region, we see strong interest in secure SD-WAN, cloud, and OT areas. By transforming their WAN architectures with SD-WAN, organizations can leverage such functions as dynamic path selection, optimized application delivery, and accelerated cloud on-ramp to deliver business-critical applications to the WAN edge – even for the most bandwidth-hungry applications – all while delivering instant ROI benefits. A secure SD-WAN solution goes further as it also includes a full stack of integrated, enterprise-class security features, and centralized management so it can be seamlessly incorporated into the larger corporate security framework. In 2021, we saw many attacks on critical infrastructure. Attacks against OT systems and critical infrastructure can have dire consequences for the lives and safety of both workers and consumers. OT organizations need to deploy cohesive solutions across their converging IT and OT networks. A platform approach is essential for OT organizations since their security considerations must extend beyond the on-premises system. Now they also must cover the operating system, the network infrastructure, and take the increased dependence on enabled Internet of Things (IoT) and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices into account as well. Cybercriminals certainly aren’t going to let up in 2022. As digital innovation accelerates, organizations are increasingly reliant on secure cloud solutions and infrastructures. Fortinet Adaptive Cloud Security Solutions provide the necessary visibility and control across cloud infrastructures, enabling secure applications and connectivity from the data center to the cloud.

How do you react to the increasing competition in the security solutions market?

Competing in today’s highly dynamic digital marketplace requires tools built around security-driven Networking principles that are designed to adapt to constantly changing requirements. We tightly integrate security with networking and connectivity solutions to ensure that even the most dynamic environments and edges are always protected. By weaving security and networking together, security no longer functions as an overlay.

Enterprises need more than siloed solutions in today’s complex environment. This is why the Fortinet Security Fabric is the answer to their security challenges: it ensures that solutions deployed anywhere, regardless of their form factor or the network they run on, can see each other, share threat intelligence, and coordinate a unified response to threats. It supports our unique security-driven networking approach that blends security, networking, and connectivity into a unified solution. Our advances in AI-based security technology are woven into the Security Fabric, helping ensure that organizations can receive essential, actionable threat intelligence, identify, and investigate unusual behavior, and coordinate a unified response across the entire distributed network to neutralize threats in seconds.