Zero Trust Security with Fortinet

1. Understanding Zero Trust

Zero Trust is a network security philosophy that no one or nothing within or outside of a network should be trusted without meticulous identification. Hoping to avoid that threats will at some point arise, Zero Trust assumes that they are always present. The implication of Zero Trust is that every access request from a user or device is deemed as a threat and must be authenticated under a strict identity verification protocol.

2. Fortinet’s Approach to Zero Trust

Fortinet has a Zero Trust Solution as part of the Fortinet Security Fabric. The solution’s aim is to ensure that only the intended user and device can access the networks and applications, eliminating chances of security breaches. Fortinet’s Zero Trust practices aim at being risk-adaptive and people-oriented, such that users’ productivity is only minimally affected.

3. Key Components: FortiGate, FortiNAC, FortiAuthenticator

FortiGate

FortiGate is a next-generation firewall that offers businesses a powerful tool for enforcing robust security with the needed flexibility and granular access control. The firewall decentralizes policy enforcement to the edge, allowing end-users regardless of location to be assigned to the closest access point to the desired application. This ensures that users can only access the specific application instance through their unique session. On the other hand, the client-initiated model allows IT to be much more efficient by supercharging them with more control from the endpoint but giving the user a more familiar and faster user experience.

FortiNAC

FortiNAC is designed to control who and what can connect to your network and monitor their activity after connection. It is used to segment network traffic from various locations into zones, from which the IT professionals can create policies governing how and who can connect and what they can access.

FortiAuthenticator

FortiAuthenticator is a centralized authentication hub for Fortinet devices. It has a variety of identification methods such as polling Active Directory Domain Controller, integration with the FortiAuthenticator Single Sign-On Mobility Agent, and FSSO Portal-based authentication.

4. Step-by-Step Implementation Guide

5. Monitor and Control Access

Conclusion

Implementing a ZT strategy with Fortinet products offers the best security solution for all threats possible. By following the above guidelines, contractors ensure that the network is covered by threats lurking in and out of the network.