For IT security professionals, endpoint security is a tremendous challenge at least partly because the very nature of endpoints has changed dramatically.
Once upon a a time, “endpoint” was very simple: Desktop, laptop, or corporate server. But that definition has expanded over the years to include smartphones, tablets, Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and other devices.
Each new class of endpoint not only increases the number of endpoints, but also the number of operating systems involved, and the sum of applications installed on those applications.
If that weren’t complicated enough, all those endpoints also represent new attack surfaces to hackers and criminal organizations — meaning that their deployment on the network means the network will likely be exposed to new forms of malware and new classes of security exploits.
A New Approach to Endpoint Security
All this has resulted in a sea change in the way IT perceives and secures the network perimeter. No longerwill it suffice to deploy traditional, isolated security solutions on different endpoints and then try to improvise a strategy that combines and orchestrates them. Instead, it’s clear that a more flexible, unified approach is required that can:
- Protect the endpoints themselves from threats both known and unknown
- Protect data wherever it lies, despite what the endpoint is used to do (clearly a corporate server functions very differently from a smartphone) or which network is used to do it
- Centralize endpoint security at a basic level, by providing a holistic management platform that allows policies to be created and applied across all endpoints
Unify Endpoint Management with FortiClient
It was with all this context in mind that Fortinet, a Fine Tech business partner and leading provider of security solutions, developed FortiClient.
What makes FortiClient unique?
First, it’s a unified agent that can be deployed onto four remarkably different endpoint types: Windows computers, Mac OS X computers, Apple iOS devices and Google Android devices. This single agent supports, in other words, the vast majority of endpoints any organization is likely to have, no matter what they do or where they’re used.
Second, it provides many key features that help lock down endpoints: anti-malware, application firewall, Web filtering, vulnerability management, two-factor authentication, remote access, and many more.
Third, it integrates naturally with other Fortinet security solutions including both FortiGate and FortiSandbox. This way, security information is shared across technologies, and they act as a cohesive team, instead of standalone players.
Fourth, via the FortiClient Management Server, it’s easy to manage everything FortiClient can do in a unified way, tracking and overseeing all endpoints, no matter their nature. This is where management policies are created and executed — it’s the single pane of glass managers use to oversee network security. Logs are also collected from endpoints and, with FortiAnalyzer, can be assessed to generate holistic security reports.
As a Fortinet partner and 2015 Fortinet distributor of the year, Fine Tec is proud to offer this extraordinary technology to the world — and we’d love to discuss its value proposition in depth, or answer any related questions resellers may have. Just get in touch!