Customer Perspectives

For global healthcare organizations that operate scores of clinics in multiple countries worldwide, cybersecurity has always been a top priority. And if protecting multisite environments against increasingly sophisticated cyberattacks is not difficult enough, the rise of hybrid and remote working in recent years means that the security perimeter is now more distributed than ever. Protecting the enterprise means securing access to corporate data centers from almost anywhere.

One leading global specialist healthcare provider offers its customers a 24x7 service enabled by a three-shift schedule that has many employees working from home. The problem was that its security system, which was centered on a basic proxy tool, only provided a bare minimum of protection to users. The organization's security team was also concerned that they had little control of employees' devices when they worked outside of the company's branch locations. The security team, therefore, went on the hunt for a more secure way to enable its global remote workforce to access data center applications securely. 

Extending Fortinet Security Capabilities to the Cloud

The company has long been a Fortinet customer, having deployed FortiGate Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) devices to provide industry-leading security and protection at the network edge. In addition, the organization uses FortiAnalyzer as a tool for logging and reporting. Based on its exceptional experiences with Fortinet technology and expertise, the company invited Fortinet to propose a solution to its remote working security requirements.

Following a successful proof of concept (POC), and in close cooperation with Fortinet's system engineers, the client deployed a zero-trust network access (ZTNA) solution comprising its existing investments in FortiGate NGFWs and FortiAnalyzer, along with new investments in 1,500 FortiSASE (secure access service edge) licenses, and in the FortiAuthenticator solution.

For the solution, the company activated the ZNTA proxy features embedded in the FortiGate NGFWs. It then deployed FortiSASE to extend ZTNA to its devices using the FortiClient software agent to enable users to securely access data center applications, as well as cloud applications, from anywhere over the internet.

FortiSASE is an architecture that combines networking and security capabilities for remote users with secure internet, cloud, and data center network access. FortiSASE comprises technologies including Firewall-as-a-Service (FWaaS), secure web gateway (SWG), ZTNA, and cloud access security broker (CASB). And, it offers a consistent experience for on-premises and remote security to reduce security gaps and configuration overhead.

Finally, the organization integrated FortiAuthenticator with its Lightweight Access Directory Portal (LDAP). Configured as a proxy for the LDAP, FortiAuthenticator enables the company to apply different security policies on the basis of their belonging to an Active Directory group.

Maximizing Protection for Remote Workers and Securing Access to Applications

The combination of FortiSASE and ZTNA is proving the perfect mix for the company to achieve its security goals for remote workers. The FortiSASE agent-based approach is a significant improvement to the company's legacy proxy solution, supporting multiple use cases including endpoint protection, ZTNA, and traffic redirection, which enables the company to maximize remote worker security from the cloud.

As well as being the perfect fit from a security perspective, Fortinet's licensing approach, which is based on each device agent, is ideal for the client's deployment, where different users share 1,500 endpoints.

Finally, the expertise of Fortinet's systems engineers proved to be a significant benefit throughout the rollout of the solution. Fortinet's team worked closely with the client to conduct field tests during the POC phase, and to ensure that the end solution met the client's requirements perfectly.

By extending Fortinet's security protection to the cloud with the FortiSASE solution with ZTNA included, this global healthcare provider has ensured business continuity for all employees and the devices that regularly access its business applications. The result is a remote working solution that is more secure than its legacy solution and provides a better end-user experience.

Keep up with the latest advances in patient care while protecting against cyberattacks with Fortinet's healthcare cybersecurity solutions.