securitylinkindia

Fortinet Expands Its OT Security Platform to Strengthen Protection for Critical Infrastructure

Updates to the industry’s most comprehensive Operational Technology Security Platform include enhanced visibility, segmentation, and secure connectivity Fortinet®, the global cybersecurity player driving the convergence of networking and security, recently announced it has advanced its OT Security Platform to further support the protection of critical infrastructure and industrial sites from evolving cyber threats. New enhancements go beyond traditional OT visibility solutions and include deeper OT-specific threat visibility with the FortiGuard OT Security Service, expanded ruggedized solutions for segmentation and 5G in harsh environments, and an upgraded OT SecOps portfolio for automated threat response and regulatory compliance tracking. “Fortinet has been building an industry-leading OT Security Platform for 20-plus years and remains at the forefront of OT security innovation,” said Nirav Shah, Senior Vice President, Products and Solutions at Fortinet, “As cyberthreats against critical infrastructure and across industries such as energy, transportation, and manufacturing continue to grow, Fortinet remains committed to delivering comprehensive security solutions tailored for operational technology environments. These latest enhancements give organizations the tools they need to improve their OT security posture and adhere to regulatory requirements – all managed through a single, unified platform.” Key enhancements to the Fortinet OT Security Platform The latest Fortinet OT Security Platform updates introduce powerful new capabilities to enhance OT security: The Fortinet OT Security Platform provides unified visibility and security capabilities to manage OT and remote-site security, simplifying and empowering customers’ ability to assess, secure, and report on risk, including complex regulatory compliance requirements. Only Fortinet offers seamless segmentation capabilities and an end-to-end ruggedized portfolio of OT security solutions powered by a single operating system, FortiOS. Deep integration with the Fortinet Security Fabric makes the OT Security Platform the most comprehensive in the industry, providing the most effective, efficient, and holistic offering for OT security and compliance adherence that goes beyond the industry standard. Industry Recognition and Customer Success The Fortinet OT Security Platform is widely trusted by global organizations looking to seamlessly integrate IT and OT security. The company was recognized as the sole leader in the Westlands Advisory 2023 IT/ OT Network Protection Platforms Navigator™, reinforcing its market leadership. “Together, Fortinet and Honeywell help strengthen cybersecurity for critical infrastructure and operational technology environments. As cyberthreats intensify, industrial and commercial buildings operators need integrated end-toend protection more than ever. Our relationship with Fortinet enhances Honeywell’s cybersecurity and ICT offering portfolio providing several strategic advantages in securing and managing risk for remote and on-campus customer sites; as well, reinforcing our commitment with Fortinet. “Honeywell leverages the Fortinet FortiGate and FortiGate Rugged series alongside Honeywell’s OT Cybersecurity portfolio to provide unmatched services capabilities to help reduce risk, enhance resilience, improve compliance, and secure operations from the edge to the enterprise,” Said Manish Goyal, General Manager, Honeywell Connected Cybersecurity. “Management at remote Alleima locations has been very complimentary of the Fortinet infrastructure. Their connections are much faster and more stable, and our response time for their support tickets is around tenfold quicker. Everyone at Alleima is much, much happier with the global network and security infrastructure we now have,” said Chris Lubinski, Network Security Engineer, Alleima “Fortinet has been building an industry-leading OT Security Platform for 20-plus years and remains at the forefront of OT security innovation” Nirav ShahSenior Vice President,Products and Solutions at Fortinet “The increased performance and resilience of the new network, combined with simpler management, reporting, and analytics, has reduced the workload on our security team by at least 15%, which means we now have the bandwidth to move on to the next phases of our digital transformation, things like zero trust, and IT/OT convergence, and given our experience so far, we fully expect to be making these transitions with Fortinet,” said Wolfgang Bitomsky, Ph.D., CIO, FCC Environment CEE. About Fortinet Fortinet is a driving force in the evolution of cybersecurity and the convergence of networking and security. Their mission is to secure people, devices, and data everywhere, and today they deliver cybersecurity everywhere the customers need it with the largest integrated portfolio of over 50 enterprise-grade products. Well over half a million customers trust Fortinet’s solutions, which are among the most deployed, most patented, and most validated in the industry. The Fortinet Training Institute, one of the largest and broadest training programs in the industry, is dedicated to making cybersecurity training and new career opportunities available to everyone. Collaboration with esteemed organizations from both the public and private sectors, including Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTS), government entities, and academia, is a fundamental aspect of Fortinet’s commitment to enhance cyber resilience globally. FortiGuard Labs, Fortinet’s elite threat intelligence and research organization, develops and utilizes leading-edge machine learning and AI technologies to provide customers with timely and consistently top-rated protection and actionable threat intelligence.

Read More

Rethinking Risk Management – How Centralized Platforms Simplify Cybersecurity

Harikrishna PrabhuCOO, Technobind Solutions As cyber threats evolve at an unprecedented pace, organizations find themselves entangled in a web of fragmented security solutions, each promising protection but collectively creating chaos. From endpoint security and cloud protection to identity access management and compliance tools, the sheer complexity of managing multiple platforms often leaves security teams overwhelmed and vulnerable. This disjointed approach not only increases operational inefficiencies but also widens security gaps – offering adversaries an opportunity to exploit weaknesses. A unified platform can bridge these security silos, transforming risk management from a reactive burden into a proactive, intelligent defense mechanism that simplifies operations, enhances threat response, and fortifies an organization’s cybersecurity posture. The Complexity Conundrum Traditional cybersecurity strategies rely on disparate security solutions, forcing security teams to juggle multiple dashboards, policies, and alerts. This siloed approach creates blind spots, delays incident response, and increases the risk of misconfiguration – often the weakest link in cybersecurity defenses. The Shift to Centralized Risk Management A centralized risk management platform consolidates security functions into a single pane of glass, providing real-time visibility, streamlined workflows, and automated threat intelligence. By integrating risk assessment, compliance tracking, and threat detection into one ecosystem, organizations can proactively manage vulnerabilities before they escalate into breaches. The Benefits: Efficiency, Accuracy, and Compliance As cyber threats grow in sophistication, businesses must transition from reactive defense to proactive risk mitigation. A centralized security platform isn’t just a convenience – it’s a necessity for organizations looking to simplify security operations while fortifying their cyber resilience. By embracing centralized cybersecurity risk management like ESET Protect Platform, enterprises can reduce complexity, cut costs, and ensure a more resilient security posture in an era of relentless cyber threats. ● Holistic Visibility – Security teams can correlate data across endpoints, cloud environments, and networks, reducing the time to detect and respond to threats. ● Automation and AI-Driven Insights – Leveraging AI and machine learning, centralized platforms can identify anomalies, prioritize risks, and automate remediation, reducing human error.● Regulatory Compliance – Organizations can maintain compliance with industry standards (e.g., GDPR, NIST, ISO 27001) by aligning security policies across the enterprise in a structured manner. ESET PROTECT Platform: A Paradigm of Centralized Cyber Risk Management In the quest for streamlined and effective cybersecurity, the ESET PROTECT Platform stands out as a quintessential example of centralized cyber risk management. This cloud-first, AI-native cybersecurity platform integrates a comprehensive suite of tools designed to provide robust protection while simplifying security operations. Key Features of ESET PROTECT Platform ● Unified Security Management: Offers a centralized console that provides real-time visibility and control over all endpoints, facilitating seamless policy enforcement and incident response. ● Advanced Threat Defense: Utilizes proactive, cloudbased defenses to guard against zero-day and never- before-seen threats, ensuring that emerging vulnerabilities are promptly addressed. ● Extended Detection and Response (XDR): Enables comprehensive threat hunting and incident response capabilities, allowing security teams to investigate and remediate sophisticated threats effectively. ● Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Ensures that access to organizational data is protected through seamless MFA, enhancing security compliance and reducing unauthorized access risks. ● Vulnerability and Patch Management: Actively tracks and addresses vulnerabilities in operating systems and applications across all endpoints, mitigating potential security threats from unpatched systems. As cyber threats evolve at an unprecedented pace, organizations find themselves entangled in a web of fragmented security solutions, each promising protection but collectively creating chaos. From endpoint security and cloud protection to identity access management and compliance tools, the sheer complexity of managing multiple platforms often leaves security teams overwhelmed and vulnerable In conclusion, the future of cybersecurity lies in simplification without compromise. As businesses continue their digital transformation journeys, embracing a centralized risk management approach is no longer optional—it’s a critical imperative. Platforms like ESET PROTECT exemplify this strategy by unifying security functions, automating threat detection, and providing real-time risk insights. By adopting such comprehensive solutions, organizations can transition from fragmented defenses to a streamlined, proactive security posture, effectively mitigating cyber risks while freeing up valuable resources to focus on innovation and growth. About TechnoBind TechnoBind is the first Specialist Distributor in the Indian IT channels space offering a hybrid distribution model placed synergistically between broad-based and niche distribution, to deliver high business value for its reseller partners. TechnoBind helps partners to implement solutions, which solve specific business pain points arising out of the rapidly changing facets of technology for businesses. TechnoBind’s sole focus is to help enterprises manage and make the most of their most precious asset which is data. The portfolio of thirty cutting-edge brands spanning Access, Management, Security, Infrastructure and Cloud enables TechnoBind to uniquely address data management. Read More

Read More

Law and Order: How Employees Benefit from Being Monitored?

Sergio BertoniLeading Analyst atSearchInform 71% of small and medium-sized businesses experienced attempts by employees to leak data, SearchInform research states. However, employees often leak data accidentally and without any malicious intent, for example, because of negligence or cyber illiteracy. Today, establishing control over employees’ actions with data is a common practice, but it is impossible to ensure without specialized software – DLP systems, which have become a basic tool for protecting companies against data breaches caused by insiders. DLP systems are also used to avoid data misuse, improve the level of work discipline, and retain valuable staff. Control within the Law The employer has the legal right to control employees to protect sensitive information such as personal data, banking and commercial secrets, data collected by state information systems, and data in industrial control systems at critical infrastructure facilities. For example, an employer is responsible for keeping passport scans and other documents of employees, the company’s partners, and clients’ data safe as well. This is enshrined in the laws of many countries, as well as in international legislation such as GDPR. However, personnel must be informed that the organization where they are employed is using an automated monitoring system (like DLP). The fact that an organization uses specialized software for employee control must be documented in corporate policies. Employees, in their turn, should be informed about what the protective system is used for, and sign a consent for their activity to be monitored. For the employer it is necessary to draw up an additional agreement to the employment contract and outline all the tasks of using the system which could be the following: ● Oversee employees’ compliance with job descriptions and internal labour regulations; ● Control the appropriate use of the company’s information resources and technical means to fulfill job duties; ● Ensure protection of commercial, trade, official, and other secrets as required by national and international regulations. The DLP systems are also deployed to maintain discipline and evaluate staff productivity. In case of such system implementation in corporate IT infrastructure, the employer should take measures to avoid conflicts and misunderstandings between the team and management. Introducing corporate regulations on working with information will help solve this task. Besides, a separate policy on how documents need to be stored, and whether it is permitted to use clouds and personal email to communicate work-related tasks and other questions is a must. This way employees will understand what is allowed to do at work and what is prohibited for them. For example, an employer may not allow an employee to use a corporate PC for non-work related activity on social networks, storing personal photos etc. What are the benefits of being monitored? The issue is that employees often interpret various monitoring systems as excessive control and distrust. In this case, it is crucial to communicate to the team the advantages employees receive from being monitored by protective software. Providing employees with real life cases will help in this regard. The first case from SearchInform practice proves that DLP systems help employees avoid being accused of a crime they never committed: ● The security department specialists found on the employee’s corporate PC confidential data that he did not have access to. Investigation revealed that the remote access tools were regularly run on his computer, however, the employee hadn’t noticed it. It turned out that the network administrator temporarily stored confidential data on the ‘victim’s’ PC before transferring it to third parties. Thus, the DLP system helped identify the real intruder and save the honest employee from being dismissed. 71% of small and medium- sized businesses experienced attempts by employees to leak data, SearchInform research states. However, employees often leak data accidentally and without any malicious intent, for example, because of negligence or cyber illiteracy. If our client did not have a DLP system, it would have been very difficult for the guiltless worker to avoid suspicion and prove that he was not involved in the data leak. Unfortunately, such cases are not uncommon. In this way, modern control systems help to avoid situations when staff members need to justify themselves. In some organizations where DLP is not implemented, in the same cases, the employees may be required to undergo polygraphs or other stressful procedures. DLP at employees’ service There are major ways, how DLP system brings important benefits to the employees. Firstly, the DLP system reduces the risk of accidental data leakage, which could lead to sanctions against the employee. The system is equipped with proactive blocking functionality, which is fine-tuned by an Information Security specialist. The feature reduces the chances of confidential documents intentionally or unintentionally leaving the company’s information perimeter. DLP also notifies the user (InfoSec specialist or another professional in charge) about suspicious employee activity. In addition, DLP systems can be equipped with the open mode of operation that empowers the user not to commit dangerous actions with the help of special notifications. It is also possible to customise alerts about dangerous actions or enable the user interface – a visible window on the taskbar so that personnel can communicate freely with the InfoSec professionals. ● Case: The employee of the research institute was preparing documentation containing data from clinical trials of the drug. Out of habit, he sent the documents for review to a former manager, who at the time was already working for a competitor. The incident that occurred by mistake severely damaged the reputation of the institute. However, it could have been avoided if the DLP was deployed. Secondly, DLP ensures confidence that all incidents will be investigated objectively and thoroughly. This applies not only to prevent false accusations but also to verifying complaints from employees about arbitrary behavior by the company’s top management. ● Case: One of our clients, a retail company deployed a DLP system. Then, a suspicious email to the CFO from one of the dismissed employees was found. Ex-worker accused the CFO of taking full advantage of the CEO’s trust to fire valuable…

Read More