Securing the 5G Era: Fortinet’s Holistic Approach

The cybersecurity landscape for this new era of connectivity is set to change radically as we stand on the cusp of the 5G revolution. Speed, connectivity, and data handling are all poised to break new ground — for worse, not better, if we continue the trajectory of increasingly sophisticated security attacks. Leading this transition is P J Networks, which partners with Fortinet to offer a range of 5G-ready security solutions. This blogpost dissects the particularities of securing 5G at scale, touches on how Fortinet addresses these security challenges with innovative solutions, and shows how those can be leveraged across telecom and enterprise use cases, offering strategic insights into a domain which is expected to dominate headlines — The future of 5G Security!

5G Security Challenges

5G allows communication networks to easily transition and innovate across industry verticals. But with these advancements come a host of cybersecurity threats that need to be tackled:

• More surface area for attacks: 5G promises to enable massive numbers of devices across IoT, cloud, and edge computing environments to come online, increasing the attack surface exponentially. All of those connection endpoints are potential attack points.
• Improved Bandwidth & Speed: With these new capabilities comes the potential that you can increase your cybersecurity threats with higher speeds. Viruses can spread faster than ever, and a security framework has to get bigger in order to handle, traverse, and filter massive amounts of data.
• Exploitable Network Slicing: 5G introduces network slicing, which offers the capability to create separate virtual networks on top of a common physical infrastructure. Without comprehensive security measures, each slice would essentially be a new point of entry or egress, opening up the entire network.
• Supply Chain Complexities: The mix of components from multiple vendors highlights the requirement for strict supply chain security mechanisms. Reliable trust and verification mechanisms must secure the integrity of hardware and software.

5G-Ready Security Solutions from Fortinet

Fortinet is leading the charge to address these 5G-specific cyber threats. Fortinet offers a broad suite of solutions to approximate this change in the landscape, through an approach which is comprehensive and adaptive.

5G Solution Features of Fortinet

• Security Fabric Integration: Fortinet Security Fabric is an integrated and scalable framework that enables the seamless communication between Fortinet’s enterprise solutions across multi-cloud environments. It then enforces this at scale for total visibility and control.
• High Performance Firewalls: Designed to deal with the enormous data traffic moving over 5G networks, Fortinet’s high-end NGFWs provide the advanced threat protection and speed enterprises need.
• AI-Powered Threat Intelligence: Using AI and machine learning, Fortinet delivers intelligence into threats. Taking this preemptive step bolsters real-time threat identification and response.
• Cloud Security: As more enterprises move their operations to the cloud, Fortinet’s cloud security offerings ensure consistent security policies and compliance across all clouds.

Custom designed consultations and rental services of firewalls, servers, and routers that are compatible with Fortinet’s 5G Solutions are available at P J Networks. Employing this kind of gear will allow business owners to keep their security layers in good condition and avoid severe problems without limiting quantities of capital.

Use Cases in Telecom & Enterprise

The powerful Fortinet technology is being utilized to not only help telecom providers in their 5G transformation but also secure the numerous security vulnerabilities that come along with it.

Telecom Use Cases

Fortinet must help communication service providers continue to deliver uninterrupted services in the age of 5G.

• Secure Network Slices: Fortinet’s advanced segmentation enables telecom operators to easily manage and secure multiple network slices, reducing cross-channel exposures.
• Cloud-Native Security: As 5G networks and services are migrating onto the cloud, Fortinet excels within this environment by offering integrated security solutions for multicloud from design to deployment.

Enterprise Use Cases

From retail to automotive, 5G is being used by enterprises in a variety of different sectors to enhance performance and unleash new forms of innovation. Keep in mind that Fortinet’s solutions help to enable these goals.

• IoT Security: With the growth of IoT security devices accessing enterprise networks, Fortinet strengthens the endpoints by providing comprehensive security solutions to stop potential entry points.
• Secure Massive Scale Remote Workforce: Enabled by 5G and leveraging the flexibility of network designs, organizations can securely enable their remote workforce using Fortinet’s Secure SD-WAN.

The 5G Security Landscape

In preparation for the advent of this next-generation security landscape, we will refer to it as the 5G Security Landscape. With 5G coming online and an expected proliferation of connected devices on the horizon, this moment marks the dawn of a new era for those enterprises that must now see into the future in order to build stronger security frameworks that can adapt with technology.

Preparing for the 5G Security Landscape: The Good Business Approach

• Implement Holistic Security: Follow a strategy that brings network, application, and edge security together. This provides a more robust defense mechanism to remain threat agile.
• Use Rental Services to Add Flexibility: Businesses can keep security up-to-date without massive capital expenditure by renting critical infrastructure, like firewalls and routers. Rental options help to keep SME flexibility in a 5G era. At P J Networks, we rent our systems for ease of onboarding.
• Continuous Training and Awareness: Building a culture of cybersecurity awareness, so all users are able to recognize the ever-advancing threat landscape, as well as their role in mitigating those risks.
• Performing Routine Network Audits and Penetration Testing: This way, threats can uncover even areas of potential exploited vulnerabilities so that networks are made hard against exploits.

With the growing requirement for stable security, leveraging the expertise of P J Networks, Fortinet is helping its clients secure their digital ecosystems with redundant and scalable zero-trust environments. Put this connected era to bed with the surety of well-rounded security strategies by your side.