When asked to define sustainability, many of us immediately think about preserving our natural resources and environments. While Fortinet continues to make strides in these areas, the company also views cybersecurity as a global sustainability issue. Barbara Maigres, Fortinet’s SVP and global head of sustainability, shares the importance of cybersecurity in the Fortinet 2022 Sustainability Report.
“Cybersecurity, like climate change, gender equality, diversity and business ethics, must be part of every company’s sustainability initiative. Every organization must put the proper measures, processes and governance in place to ensure that the digital world we all rely on is safe,
reliable and sustainable.”
- Barbara Maigres, Fortinet’s SVP and global head of sustainability
Innovating for a safe internet
In 2022, Fortinet made significant strides in its partnership against cybercrime. The company collaborated with Interpol in an anti-cybercrime operation in Africa and the World Economic Forum's Cybercrime Atlas project, which aims to map major cybercrime syndicates. Through its partnership with Interpol, 220,000 pieces of malicious cyber infrastructure were disrupted. The company also designed five new product families and services designed to help security teams in their efforts to thwart cybercrime.
Growing an inclusive cybersecurity workforce
In the report, Fortinet also shared how the company is tackling the cybersecurity skills gap by concentrating on skilling, upskilling and reskilling individuals to create a larger and more diverse cybersecurity workforce. In 2022, at the White House National Cyber Workforce and Education Summit, Fortinet announced the expansion of its existing free training offerings, focusing on schools as part of its strategy to help reach its goal of training one million people in cybersecurity by 2026. Last year more than 219,000 were trained in cybersecurity through the Fortinet Training Institute.
Fortinet’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) led to a 39 percent increase in women hired compared to 2021. The company also established its own DEI Organizing Committee and Council.
The World Economic Forum’s Global Risk Report 2022 ranks cyberattacks as one of the world’s top five risks. And according to Statista, the global cost of cybercrime, estimated at $8.4 trillion in 2022, is predicted to surpass $11 trillion in 2023. Learn how Fortinet is spearheading initiatives to address this global issue by reading the Fortinet 2022 Sustainability Report and its Corporate Social Responsibility vision and approach.