When it's time for solution providers to make a power play, Fortinet has the playbook.
Protecting critical infrastructure like power grids from cyber threats is a high-stakes mission. It also offers a prime example of how Fortinet’s technology and solutions give channel partners a best-of-breed approach to keeping customers safe.
Kimberly Becan, director of network operations solutions at Fortinet, provides an insightful look at how the company engaged a customer that operates a major European power grid.
“Managing bulk power transmission across a large country involves complex logistical challenges,” Becan wrote recently. “For example, grid operators need to be able to monitor and maintain an extensive, geographically dispersed network of control stations and substations to ensure maximum uptime while keeping costs under control.
“Operators must also ensure the cybersecurity of their distributed networks. As a critical national infrastructure, power grid operators are a prime target for bad actors. With the rise of AI, the range of threats they face is growing in sophistication and frequency.”
For solution providers in the cybersecurity space, this is an example that is sharp and on point.
In the example mentioned above, Fortinet provided a comprehensive suite of solutions to help protect both IT and OT environments for a national power grid operator. Here are the key elements:
- FortiGate Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs): Offered multilayer protection, network segmentation, increased visibility, and enhanced threat analytics.
- FortiGuard AI-Powered Security Services: Integrated services providing intrusion prevention system (IPS), antivirus, anti-malware, and deep packet inspection to combat advanced persistent threats (APTs).
- FortiGuard OT Security Service: Delivered OT-specific coverage by inspecting traffic for critical protocols and supervisory control and data acquisition systems.
- FortiSandbox: Integrated into the IT/OT infrastructure to detect and isolate potential threats in real time.
- Enhanced Security Operations Center (SOC) and Network Operations Center (NOC) capabilities: Improved security for IT/OT applications and increased protection against zero-day threats.
- FortiSIEM Security Information Event Management: Provided threat intelligence, real-time detection capabilities, centralized security analytics, and end-to-end security posture awareness.
- FortiAnalyzer: Supported the entire solution with a single, centralized platform and dashboard for simplified management and reporting, converging security across IT and OT domains.
Fortinet’s approach “converges security across the IT and OT domains and provides a highly scalable architecture that delivers a rapid return on investment,” Becan says.
For solution providers, complexity doesn’t necessarily mean the need to make things more complicated. And it can also provide a sound pathway toward growth.