Fortinet targets branch offices with upgraded firewalls

Fortinet has refreshed its branch office firewalls, adding power and features to its next-generation FortiGate G-series devices.

Three new boxes in the FortiGate G Series portfolio – the 70G, 50G, and 30G – include integrated firewall, intrusion prevention, malware and ransomware protection, SD-WAN, and switching capabilities, all of which can be managed via the vendor’s FortiManager centralized management platform. FortiManager lets customers create and deploy security policies across multiple firewalls, simplifying administration in large, distributed enterprises, according to Fortinet.

The new boxes also support Fortinet’s generative AI assistant, FortiAI, to help administrators automate tasks, generate actionable insights, and improve threat detection, the vendor stated. In addition, FortiGate customers can use FortiAI to support incident analysis and threat remediation.  

The new boxes run on Fortinet’s fifth-generation ASIC, the FortiSP5, that promises several performance improvements for the FortiGate system. It enables 17x faster firewall performance and 32x faster encryption processes while using 88% less power compared to standard CPUs, the vendor has stated. With FortiSP5, Fortinet’s firewalls will be able to handle higher levels of traffic inspection to block threats and boost protection, according to Fortinet.

The 70G, 50G and 30G expand or replace the current line of branch products (the Fortinet 40F/60F/80F series) and support FortiOS, the vendor’s operating system for the FortiGate family of hardware and virtual components. FortiOS implements Fortinet Security Fabric, which is the vendor’s protection architecture for enterprise network infrastructure.