A Strategic Cybersecurity Approach

In today's rapidly evolving digital landscape, organizations are grappling with an evolving threat landscape with sophisticated cyber threats driven by artificial intelligence. To effectively protect their networks and data, organizations need a comprehensive security solution that can be deployed everywhere to detect and adapt to emerging threats and provide consistent, robust protection.

Historically, many companies have relied on a collection of best-of-breed or point products for their cybersecurity needs, often managed separately by distinct networking and security teams. Enter FortiOS 7.6, a powerful operating system designed to address the critical security needs of modern enterprises. FortiOS enables the integration of networking and security into a unified platform, providing businesses with a streamlined, holistic approach to security that ensures comprehensive protection across the entire infrastructure and attack surface.

FortiOS is more than just software or an operating system; it's a strategic approach designed to empower organizations to achieve a consistent user experience, common security policies, and comprehensive visibility and control across diverse environments. Whether your infrastructure is on-premises, cloud-based, hybrid, or a convergence of IT, OT, and IoT, FortiOS provides a unified framework for managing and securing your hybrid network.

FortiOS lies at the heart of Fortinet's Security Fabric, a comprehensive framework that unifies diverse security and networking solutions into an integrated platform, enabling a holistic approach to cybersecurity that reduces complexities, eliminates security silos, and improves operational efficiencies. The Fortinet Security Fabric allows organizations to share threat intelligence, automate security processes, and maintain a centralized view of their entire security environment while simplifying management, reducing costs, and enhancing overall security posture. A vital component of this framework is the FortiGate appliance, Fortinet's Next-Generation Firewall, which plays a crucial role in enhancing security and performance.

FortiGate and FortiOS: A Powerful Combination

FortiOS powers all the functions integrated into FortiGate firewalls, creating an intelligent, adaptive platform capable of protecting organizations in real time from a broad spectrum of threats, including advanced AI-driven attacks and modern threat vectors.

The recently launched FortiOS 7.6 provides several critical features that add further power to our FortiGate solutions.

• AI-powered Inline threat detection:Improved accuracy and speed of threat identification swiftly identifies and blocks even the most elusive zero-day attacks.
• Post-Quantum Cryptography:Support for CRYSTALS-Kyber ensures your VPN connections remain secure in the face of quantum computing advancements.
• Improved user experience:Redesigned web UI simplifies network management tasks, saving time and effort.
• IKEv2 support for FortiAPs:Provides more secure and efficient VPN connections for your wireless devices.
• IPv6 support:Simplified IPv6 configuration for web filtering and security streamlines configuration and enhances security.
• DHCPv6 enhancements:Improved DHCPv6 management
• DLP enhancements:Tailored DLP protection enables the creation of customized data protection policies that align with your specific security needs.
• SD-WAN improvements:ADVPN 2.0 enhancements for optimized traffic distribution and performance

FortiOS 7.6-More Than Just an Upgrade

FortiOS 7.6 provides a strategic advantage for CISOs and CIOs. Its cutting-edge features provide organizations with a comprehensive security solution that addresses today's evolving threat landscape while enhancing operational efficiency. Let's look at some of the critical use cases it supports:

CIO Use Cases:

• Improved Network Efficiency: Enhanced SD-WAN features, VPN improvements, and optimized user experience can lead to better network performance and reduced operational costs.
• Enhanced Security Posture: AI-powered threat detection, post-quantum cryptography, and DLP enhancements can significantly improve your organization's security posture, reducing the risk of data breaches and other cyberattacks.
• Secure Remote Access: Secure and efficient VPN connections enhance an employee's ability to work remotely by improving productivity and flexibility.
• Streamlined Operations: The redesigned web UI and other usability improvements can reduce the time and effort required to manage the network infrastructure, freeing up critical IT resources for other strategic initiatives.

CISO Use Cases:

• Proactive Threat Detection: AI-powered threat detection can help identify and mitigate advanced threats.
• Future-Proofed Security: Post-quantum cryptography protects your organization's VPN connections against potential quantum computing threats.
• Enhanced Data Protection: DLP enhancements provide greater data protection and compliance control.
• Simplified Management: Improved user experience and streamlined workflows can help CISOs and their teams more efficiently manage security policies and respond to incidents.

A Competitive Advantage

FortiOS 7.6 is much more than a software upgrade. It provides CISOs and CIOs with distinct competitive advantages. By harnessing these advanced capabilities, organizations can enhance network performance, streamline operations, maintain productivity, and protect their infrastructure-all while ensuring robust security.

You can read more about FortiOS 7.6 and all its features by downloading this whitepaper. You can also visit the FortiOS website.