Earlier this month, the leading cybersecurity solutions provider Fortinet completed the acquisition of network access control vendor Bradford Networks.
The acquisition is aimed at extending the micro segmentation and security to the mobile edge and internet of things (IoT) through its flagship security solution called Fortinet Security Fabric.
In this era of digital transformation, businesses are increasingly employing IoT devices, enterprise mobility, as well as BYOD (bring your own device). Thus, the number of wired and wireless enterprise network access is increasing, which is broadening the attack surface, raising internal provisioning and management, and increasing compliance costs.
According to Gartner, there will be 4.2 billion connected devices globally in the enterprises environment in 2018, with the number growing further to 7.5 billion in next two years.
“As large organizations continue to see high growth in network traffic and the number of devices and users accessing their networks, the risk of breach increases exponentially,” said Ken Xie, founder, chairman of the board and chief executive officer, Fortinet.
Cybercriminals find the opportunity to exploit these devices as the attack surface is enlarging every day. the network breaches will affect more than 1.5 billion people by 2020. In such a state, the enterprises are seeking solutions which can broaden the visibility and security for their complex networks.
By acquiring Bradford, Fortinet will enable enterprises to achieve visibility of all the endpoints, users, trusted and untrusted devices and applications that access the network including IoT and headless devices. It will also help enterprises to establish dynamic controls to ensure that the devices are authenticated or authorized.
“The integration of Bradford Networks’ technology with Fortinet’s security fabric enables large enterprises with the continuous visibility, micro-segmentation and access control technology they need to contain threats and block untrusted devices from accessing the network,” added Ken Xie.
The integrated solution will enhance the security of IoT devices through device micro segmentation, dynamic classification of devices by type and profile, and enabling automatic policy assignment.
Fortinet Security Fabric will now also be able to control the threats and cybersecurity events in seconds by automating the workflow integrations.
Also read: It costs $715,000 to mitigate a DNS attack in 2018: EfficientIP report
“We are excited to join with Fortinet, the leader in network security to deliver exceptional visibility and security at scale to large enterprise organizations. Bradford Networks’ technology is already integrated with Fortinet’s Security Fabric including FortiGate, FortiSIEM, FortiSwitch and FortiAP products to minimize the risk and impact of cyber threats in even the toughest security environments such as critical infrastructure – power, oil and gas and manufacturing,” said Rob Scott, chief executive officer, Bradford Networks.
