Fortinet, a global leader in broad, integrated, and automated cyber security solutions, announced the release of FortiOS 7.2, the latest upgrades to its flagship operating system and the foundation of the Fortinet Security Fabric. Over 300 new features enhance Fortinet’s ability to converge security at every network edge combined with the performance and scale needed to detect and prevent threats across an organisation’s entire infrastructure.
Growing and scaling the digital business while protecting a distributed infrastructure has never been more critical or complex. Networks today are hybrid by design – spread across on-premises, multiple edges, and the cloud – and they will continue to be the enabler for digital acceleration. According to Brandon Butler, Research Manager, Enterprise Networks at IDC, “The network is foundational for enabling the secure, scalable, and efficient use of cloud, edge, and IoT applications. Today, hybrid networks are needed for enterprises, allowing applications and workflows to move seamlessly across every edge so any user or device can access critical information from any location. Combined management of advanced networking and security becomes a powerful enabler of digital acceleration.”
FortiOS 7.2 delivers new AI-powered FortiGuard security services, enhancements to the only converged networking and security platform available today and further consolidation of security point products across networks, endpoints, and clouds. These enhancements enable FortiOS to further protect today’s hybrid networks in an escalating threat landscape while also helping organisations achieve digital acceleration.
Fortinet’s rich suite of Fortiguard Security Services is powered by FortiGuard Labs and natively integrated across the Fortinet Security Fabric to deliver automated and coordinated security in real-time. FortiGuard services are powered by trusted machine learning and artificial intelligence models informed by unified data sets feeding from networks, endpoints, and clouds, rich independent research, and comprehensive industry collaboration. In FortiOS 7.2, Fortinet expands its offering with multiple new services and enhancements to stop known and unknown threats faster and more effectively.
New services include Inline Sandbox which transforms a traditional detection sandbox capability into real-time in-network prevention and Advanced Device Protection service that automatically discovers and segments OT and IoT devices based on their unique network features, maintaining asset inventory, and using pattern matching to enforce appropriate policies and automate remediation.
Other services include Outbreak Detection for faster response to outbreak attacks; SOC-as-a-service at fixed cost for NGFW deployments; Dedicated IPS that enables migration from separate hardware to NGFW while preserving operations and compliance practices; and Inline CASB to enable inline ZTNA traffic inspection and ZTNA posture check.
Key enhancements to existing services include Fabric Rating service that guides customers as they design, implement, and continually advance their organisation’s security posture. It also includes Web Security which is AI-driven URL, DNS, and video filtering services; and Enhancements to a unique Converged Networking and Security Platform.
Fortinet’s security-driven networking approach is uniquely designed for modern networking technologies across all network edges. This ensures that AI-powered security functions can be built-in to enable secure digital acceleration. FortiOS 7.2 further unifies the convergence of networking and security across NGFW, SD-WAN, LAN Edge, 5G, ZTNA.
Rajesh Maurya, Regional Vice President, India & SAARC at Fortinet said, “Fortinet continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in converging networking and security to enable customers and partners to safely and effectively compete in today’s digital marketplace. Networking and security can no longer be treated as separate strategies. The present and foreseeable future consist of hybrid networks, and only with security at their core will those networks be able to adapt at speed and scale to secure every edge. Over 20 years of prioritising organic research and development have positioned Fortinet as the driving force behind cyber security innovation. And now, with the release of FortiOS 7.2, Fortinet is setting new industry standards for converged networking and security.”