Fortinet Expands Defense of Enterprise Access Networks From IoT to the Cloud

Fortinet has just announced significant additions to their Secure Access Architecture of wired and wireless networking solutions. Merging advanced security with enterprise access layers to provide seamless protections from IoT (Internet of Things) to the Cloud.

“As more BYOD along with millions of new IoT devices attach to corporate networks, defending the access layer is now critical,” says John Maddison senior vice president of products and solutions, Fortinet. “Applying a fabric approach to enable network segmentation while embedding security within access networks is the only way to secure this rapidly expanding attack surface. The Fortinet Secure Access Architecture enables customers to deliver high speed access and security in a single, integrated solution.”

• Fortinet expands its Security Fabric with 14 new products to broaden its Secure Access Architecture solutions that weave together advanced security with the access layers to provide protections across the expanding attack surface.
• Secure Access Architecture solutions offer universal management and policy controls that simplify administration across wired and wireless infrastructures, enabling sophisticated segmentation of devices from critical data.
• These flexible access solutions offer options for on premise or hosted deployments, controller or controller-less management, and technologies like 802.11ac Wave II speeds to suit the access and security needs for enterprises of all sizes.

IoT Is Already Here, and So Are the Threats

This year alone, Gartner forecasts that 6.4 billion connected things will be in use worldwide in 2016, up 30 percent from 2015, and will reach 20.8 billion by 2020. Fortinet’s own survey results show that 76% of global enterprises already have IoT equipment in use within their business.

While a majority of businesses are already leveraging the advantages of connected IoT devices, 92% of security professionals are concerned about the security challenges posed by these billions of devices. Many of these devices are “headless” offering few or no security or management controls. This has exponentially increased the attack surface and left IT struggling to manage IoT devices using complex architectures consisting of numerous point solutions.

Fortinet’s Security Fabric Interweaves Security with Access Networks

Fortinet has addressed these challenges with its Secure Access Architecture solutions which encompass the entire access infrastructure across wired and wireless networks. These solutions are intelligently unified within Fortinet’s Security Fabric through FortiOS. This enables the individual components to act and respond as one — all managed through a single pane of glass and leveraging a single source of security updates. These advanced and intuitive capabilities arm IT with universal visibility and control over IoT devices and how they interact with critical enterprise networks.

Fortinet’s Secure Access Architecture Includes:

• Access Applications – Advanced Network Applications Support Connectivity
  • Integrated and comprehensive access application solutions that enable guest access, presence, application visibility, device onboarding and more. Secure Access Applications
• Authentication/End Point – Onboarding and Security for All Users and Devices
  • Fortinet authentication applications automate guest and employee device onboarding, single-sign on, certificate management and more. Secure Access Authentication
• Management – Flexible Options for On Premise and Cloud Solutions
  • Offering choice at the access layer with controller, controller-less, cloud, multi-channel, and single-channel deployment modes. FortiManager Secure Access
• Security – Next Generation Security Access Security
  • Fortinet’s comprehensive portfolio of network security appliances offers industry leading, integrated cybersecurity protection at the access layer. FortiGate Enterprise Firewall
• Controllers – Single Point of Control Across WLAN Access Points and LAN Switches
  • Infrastructure (Standalone) and Integrated Controllers provide flexible deployment options. Our new powerful Infrastructure Controllers FortiWLC 50D, 200D and 500D supports 50, 200 and 500 access points and 802.11ac Wave 2 performance requirements, while supporting more devices. FortiWLC Wireless Controllers
• Switching- Enterprise-Class Secure Access and Datacenter Switches
  • Encompassing a wide range of high-performance, cost-effective access and data center switches, like Fortinet’s FortiSwitch FS-224D-FPOE and FS-548D-FPOE, which offers 24 and 48 port PoE (Power over Ethernet) support an range of 10 Gigabit Ethernet data center switches with universal management through FortiGate appliances. FortiSwitch Secure Access
• Access Points -WLAN Access Points for Every Enterprise and Any Use-Case
  • A complete selection of enterprise access points, featuring new 802.11ac Wave 2 enterprise APs and support for all deployment options including controller, controller-less and cloud managed options, suitable for indoor and outdoor use-cases. FortiAP Access Points