Ransomware Protection on Servers Using Fortinet Firewalls

I’m a veteran of the cybersecurity wars, so I’ve watched as threats morphed from the annoyance-but-invulnerable worms of the early 20th century (yes, I’m looking at you, Slammer) to the terrifying ransomware that haunts today’s businesses and can take down entire organizations. Running servers, one of the real threats to lose sleep over is ransomware. And honestly?

Enterprise Defense

Businesses still aren’t doing nearly enough to protect themselves. So why are servers such prime targets for ransomware and how do Fortinet firewalls help, as well as what are we doing at PJ Networks to help protect your critical systems?

How Ransomware Attacks a Server

Servers are attackers’ feast upon them because servers have the good stuff—databases, financial data, intellectual property. If they encrypt it, they know you’ll think long about forking out. And they get in through more ways than you’d reckon:

• Phishing attacks — One compromised admin account can take you straight to your servers.
• Exploiting unpatched vulnerabilities — Running legacy software? You have already been breached, even if you aren’t aware of it.
• RDP brute force — If you are exposing Remote Desktop to the internet without MFA… stop reading and solve that one first.
• Compromised supply chain software — remember SolarWinds? Yeah, that.
• Fileless malware — Living off the land attacks that exploit legitimate tools such as PowerShell.

When they’re inside, ransomware types tend to work quickly — whacking critical files within minutes and leaving you a nice note with a ransom amount in bitcoin. Occasionally they’ll first copy your data too, and double extortion (because why ransom only once when you can ransom twice?).

Fortinet’s Anti-Ransomware Protection

This is the thing: firewalls are your first line of defense, and Fortinet does a good job of stopping ransomware. But only if you set it up properly (more on that below). There are some killer features in Fortinet firewalls, especially FortiGate and FortiGuard, that make life very hard for a ransomware operator:

• Protections based on behavior — Signature-based detection is not sufficient. Fortinet finds ransomware through behavioral monitoring, not just known signatures.
• Fully encrypted traffic inspection — Also known as deep packet inspection (DPI), this enables you to catch malicious payloads before they hit your servers.
• Web filtering & DNS protection — Prevents access to known ransomware command-and-control (C2) servers, so even if malware slips by, it can’t phone home.
• Zero-trust network segmentation — So ransomware can’t easily spread laterally through your network.
• Inline sandboxing — Suspicious files are executed in a controlled environment before being permitted through.

Does this keep you 100% safe from ransomware? No. Nothing is bulletproof. But it also means attackers have to work much harder — and that’s often sufficient for them to move on to an easier target.

Challenges of Configuring a Firewall to Defend Against Ransomware

Most companies purchase firewalls expecting that they will somehow cut a child-proof hole in their network wall to stop ransomware. They will not, unless you set them up right. Here’s what you need to do:

1. IPS: Intrusion Prevention System
   • Fortinet’s IPS blocks ransomware exploits preemptively before reaching servers.
   • Always keep your IPS signatures up to date. I have seen companies get hit because they didn’t update.
2. Implement Robust Web Filtering & DNS Protections
   • Prevent access to ransomware sites.
   • Fortinet’s AI-powered reputation database filters suspicious sites out.
3. Segment Network

   This is not a flat network anymore! Create separate VLANs and control east-west traffic between them. When ransomware hits, containment is the name of the game.

4. Train on Encrypted Malware Traffic
   • DPI ensures attackers can’t take refuge in HTTPS tunnels.
   • Yes, it takes more processing power — but trust me, it is worth it.
5. Set Up Application Control
   • Limit unnecessary application and PowerShell execution globally.
   • Ransomware loves abusing built-in system tools — so stop letting unknown scripts run rampant.
6. Set Up User Authentication & Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
   • Ransomware moves quickly when attackers gain admin credentials.
   • Use in-transit encryption for all critical systems to avoid disaster.
7. Monitor Logs & Alerts

   Fortinet SIEM integration and logging assist in detecting early warnings.

These are the non-negotiable settings if you actually care about stopping ransomware before it nukes your servers.

Ransomware Protection Services by PJ Networks

I have been in security for decades, and one lesson I have learned is that no single tool will suffice. This is why we bolster Fortinet firewalls with active monitoring, incident response, and exhaustive security policies at PJ Networks.

So what do we do for our clients, particularly financial institutions like the three banks we recently served:

• Deploy and tune up Fortinet firewalls to block ransomware (none of this default config).
• Adopt zero-trust architectures—so ransomware encounters only dead ends.
• 24/7 security monitoring — we actually look at logs and react before things go down.
• Immutable backup & disaster recovery — because even the best firewall isn’t a replacement for preparation.

Nothing annoys me more than seeing an attack succeed when it was avoidable simply because a company did not configure their tools correctly. So if you have Fortinet firewalls (or are thinking about it) then let’s see if they’re actually doing their job.

Quick Take (For the Skim-Readers)

• Because servers store a lot of critical data, ransomware loves to attack servers.
• Fortinet firewalls can block malicious traffic, filter web, and stop lateral movement.
• Simply having Fortinet out of the box isn’t sufficient—you must have IPS, DPI, segmentation, and access controls in place.
• PJ Networks focuses on ransomware attack prevention in banks and enterprises.

Conclusion

Ransomware is here to stay. In fact, it’s only getting more advanced — take the new trend of RansomOps, where cyber crooks are increasingly acting like professional criminals. If you’re running servers without a dedicated strategy for defending against ransomware, you’re simply praying luck will be on your side.

Fortinet firewalls represent one of the best first lines of defense, but only if you set them up correctly and supplement them with solid security policies. If you’re not sure that your organization is actually protected, then it’s time to take a long hard look at your security posture—before a ransomware gang does it for you.

If you are ready to get serious about security, contact us. Let’s ensure ransomware operators have something else to go after — because your servers? They’re locked down.