Fortinet enhanced cloud-managed WLAN series to evade cyber threat

NEW DELHI: Nasdaq-listed Fortinet has enhanced its cloud-based FortiCloud management system and a new line of cloud-managed Wireless Access Points (APs), continuing its strategic investments in the secure wireless networking market, including the recent acquisition of Meru Networks.

Fortinet explains that the company’s ‘FortiAP-S series’ wireless LAN (WLAN) APs are the most secure cloud-managed enterprise Wi-Fi products in the market, featuring Fortinet’s cybersecurity technology running directly on the AP and receiving the latest security updates from Fortinet’s FortiGuard Labs Threat Intelligence services team. Now organizations no longer need to sacrifice security when opting to manage their enterprise wireless LAN from the cloud.

Fortinet’s new FortiAP-S series of wireless access points is said to empower organizations to forego separate WLAN controllers without exposing the network to cyber-threats. Every FortiAP-S series access point is centrally managed through the cloud-based FortiCloud management system, enabling effortless Wi-Fi network deployment and management, increasing security, visibility and control, and reducing overall infrastructure complexity. This makes it easy for organizations to implement and manage a secure Wi-Fi network, while the scalability of cloud management makes the solution ideal for distributed enterprises that may have thousands of sites.

The company indicated that distributed organizations face many challenges as they deploy and manage a wireless LAN solution for their customers and employees. Current enterprise WLAN solutions often require complex architectures to segment guest and internal networks, while demanding extra hardware like separate WLAN controllers and security appliances. While emerging cloud-managed Wi-Fi vendors have helped to reduce the complexity and management issues associated with deploying wireless networks, moving WLAN control into the cloud has introduced security challenges that have, until now, yet to be addressed.

The FortiAP-S series APs presents advanced security features like intrusion prevention, web filtering, rouge AP detection, antivirus security protection, granular application controls and more, all running directly on the access point. These features are all backed by FortiGuard Labs’ industry-leading threat intelligence to ensure that each FortiAP-S is protected against the very latest advanced threats, in real-time. This sophisticated level of hardware and software integration is only made possible by Fortinet’s expertise and dedication to high-performance security engineering and research.

Commenting on the enhanced product, John Maddison, Vice President of marketing at Fortinet, said, “Our new FortiAP-S series combines the flexibility of cloud management, the latest generation of Wireless Access Point technology and the proven security of FortiGuard, all forming a Secure Wireless architecture for Enterprise Access Networks. We can now apply mobile-specific security policies and updates such as application control and virus scanning directly to the Wireless Access Points, giving the customer a layer of perimeter defense for BYOD devices.”

“With the explosion of BYOD in the enterprise, and the subsequent mission-criticality of mobile devices and applications, organizations have struggled to balance the concerns around providing pervasive, easily managed WiFi coverage with WLAN security and compliance. Fortinet's new FortiAP-S series of access points integrates the simplicity of cloud-based WLAN management with the cybersecurity protection that Fortinet is known for,” said Nolan Greene, research analyst, IDC Network Infrastructure Group.