Fortinet

Official Websitewww.fortinet.com
Primary DomainNetwork Firewalls & Security Fabric
HeadquartersSunnyvale, California, USA
Founded2000
DeploymentFortiGate Hardware NGFW, FortiGate-VM, FortiClient Agent, FortiEDR

Vendor & Platform Overview

Fortinet is the global leader in high-performance cybersecurity networking, holding more cybersecurity patents and deploying more firewall units worldwide than any other provider. Built around the Fortinet Security Fabric and proprietary Security Processing Units (SPUs), Fortinet delivers unified network, cloud, and endpoint security with unmatched throughput and hardware acceleration.

Architecture & Detection Telemetry

At the heart of Fortinet's performance is custom ASIC hardware (NP7 network processors and CP9 content processors) running FortiOS. This hardware acceleration performs ultra-high-speed SSL/TLS decryption, IPS signature matching, and application control. Telemetry from FortiGate firewalls, FortiClient endpoints, and FortiEDR correlates across FortiGuard Labs threat intelligence to block lateral attack propagation.

Mitigated Threat Types & Incident Playbooks

Targeted malware classifications and primary attack vectors defended by Fortinet's security stack:

Autonomous Worms & Network Infiltration →Botnet C2 Communications →Destructive Ransomware Spreading →Exploitation of Exposed Network Services →

SOC Incident Response & Containment Workflow

Recommended operational sequence for security operations teams triaging alerts generated by Fortinet:

When FortiGate or FortiEDR flags an intrusion, FortiOS Fabric Automation triggers automated containment playbooks. FortiGate instantly isolates the infected host's switch port or wireless SSID via FortiSwitch/FortiAP, blocks malicious external IP addresses globally, and submits weaponized payload files to FortiSandbox for deep hardware-assisted emulation.

Enterprise Security Products

Other Products & Solutions

Non-catalog offerings, enterprise IT platforms, and consumer productivity solutions provided by Fortinet:

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Fortinet build custom ASIC chips for its firewalls?

Fortinet custom Security Processing Units (SPUs like NP7 and CP9) offload compute-heavy tasks like SSL decryption, firewall packet inspection, and antivirus scanning from the CPU, providing 5x to 10x higher security throughput than general-purpose processors.

What is the Fortinet Security Fabric?

The Security Fabric is Fortinet's unified ecosystem that shares real-time threat intelligence and automated containment policies seamlessly across firewalls, switches, access points, email gateways, and endpoint agents.

How does FortiEDR stop post-infection ransomware damage?

FortiEDR employs behavioral pre-execution and post-infection protection, intercepting unauthorized file modifications and C2 communications at the kernel level even if malware successfully bypasses initial perimeter barriers.