Size versus speed is an inescapable challenge in technology, impacting software, hardware, user experience and, near and dear to the hearts of business owners and managers everywhere, productivity. We want—and often need—solutions that are bigger, better, in higher resolution or more comprehensive. But we also need them to work quickly. The closer to real time, the better.
As important as the speed factor is, we rarely hear it discussed in security solutions. The focus bends towards solution comprehensiveness instead. It’s an understandable dynamic—the more complex the threat landscape, the more comprehensive the defense. But the speed of cybersecurity defenses—the applications themselves, the filtering rate, and the coordination speed between software and hardware components—is vital to the security equation.
The Fit is in the Fabric
The need for speed (you’re welcome for the Top Gun playback that just ran through your noggin) makes a compelling case for wrapping apps and infrastructure into a security fabric. Yes, security fabrics are more effective in actual defense than trying to perfectly size defenses to changing endpoints, edge devices, users and other dynamic infrastructure components in real time. There’s no question that fabrics are better defenders than point solutions. However, a coordinated fabric synced in real time also operates fast enough to be invisible to end-users. In other words, it’s bigger (more comprehensive) and faster—a double payoff on the technology and business fronts.
Custom Chips for Secure Networking Deliver Speed Where it Counts
Digging further into the hardware components that enable secure networking (and, by extension, security-fabric solutions) itself, speed is central to everything. And here, as we often point out at SecureNetworkHub, the provider you work with can make a significant difference.
With all of this in mind, Fortinet has released FortiSP5 (SP5 = Security Processing Unit 5), a next-generation application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) solution aimed squarely at network and security convergence across branch, campus, 5G, edge compute, operational technologies and other components. Logged from the chip, which can power and accelerate twice the number of concurrent applications of its predecessors, include:
- 17x faster firewall performance compared to leading standard CPUs
- 3.5x faster next-generation firewall (NGFW) performance compared to leading standard CPUs to handle higher levels of traffic inspection to detect and block threats
- 32x faster encryption to protect sensitive data and secure virtual private networks
- 2.5 Gbps of SSL deep inspection to deliver the processing power needed to inspect encrypted traffic for malware without performance issues
- Secure boot to allow only approved operating system software to boot up, protecting critical infrastructure against malicious tampering
- Volumetric DDoS protection to thwart distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks
- VXLAN/GRE hardware-accelerated encapsulation to enable secure interconnectivity for distributed networks
- Hardware-accelerated Quality of Service (QoS) to enhance user experience with dedicated QoS for sensitive applications such as videoconferencing
A press release with more specs is available here.
New Angle with Prospects and Customers
You’re likely opening discussions with prospects and customers on threats themselves—phishing, ransomware (and more recently, overconfidence in ransomware preparedness), catastrophic costs of downtime, etc. In your world, it’s the things that keep your customers up at night that pry them off the dime.
But with some customers—particularly those of the midsized-and-up variety—the speed-and-capacity angle can offer some food for thought and talking points they’re certainly not encountering with MSSPs.
If you’re already working with Fortinet, your channel team can provide you with information and sales support. If you’re not yet working with Fortinet, you can check out their channel program here.