Zero Trust Firewall Approach for Affordable Business Security

In the cyber world of today, a zero trust firewall approach is essential to safeguard business data without burning a hole in your pocket. For many businesses, the sticker shock of the costs of purchasing all that security gear necessary to implement Zero Trust can feel like a show stopper, that’s where renting with Fortinet has a few smart ways to get you to Zero Trust without breaking the bank.

Zero Trust Principles

Zero trust translates to never trust always verify. This security architecture operates under the assumption that every user and device, along with all network requests, has been–or can potentially be–compromised, and is therefore inherently untrustworthy, whether it originates from inside or outside your network perimeter. Main ideas include:

• Always check the access requests before accepting
• Don’t be a large exposed network instead keep the trust circles to a minimum
• Keep a look out for any suspicious behaviour all day long

As companies transition to zero trust, they’re supposed to emphasize things like verifying a person’s identity and providing secure access instead of simply protecting the perimeter with a wall of firewalls. The aim is to protect data from breaches by ensuring that no user or device is free to move about without checks.

These principles can be in place with the help of more sophisticated networking gear; for example, firewalls that implement micro segmentation security policy enforcement and realtime monitoring. But the upfront cost of buying equipment like that is huge. With Fortinet firewall rentals, you have the freedom to rent high-quality equipment with full zero trust capability without large capital investments.

Micro Segmentation

Micro segmentation is all around breaking up your network into smaller belts and braces to regulate the flow of traffic and segregate threats. Rather than trust the network as a whole, a zero trust approach segments the network into secure zones based on very restrictive access.

Some of the advantages of micro segmentation are:

• Prevents East-West movement of attackers within your network
• Strengthens control over sensitive information access
• Facilitates identification and containment of the breaches

You can create micro segmentations policies that are simple and effective, using a zero trust firewall like Fortinet. Rent this hardware and you can quickly grow segmentation as your business evolves without having to spend money on replacements or upgrades. This nimbleness is important because Zero Trust – if you are truly implementing it, and not just checking a marketing box – can be difficult to enforce when it comes to bang for your buck.

Policy Enforcement

Policy enforcement is the act of enforcing who can do what, and under what circumstances. Zero trust security is very much predicated on dynamic policy that takes into account things such as user roles device health time of access and so forth.

Key areas of policy enforcement:

• Role based access control
• Device posture checks
• Intelligent policies that adjust in real time

The fact is Fortinet zero trust firewalls are designed from the ground up with these capabilities in mind so your security teams control them all. When you rent this type of firewalls it’s easier to keep enforcement, because you will usually have updates, management of policy, etc. included or streamlined through the rental service. This ultimately means less concern about running old firmware or a poor security posture.

OPEX vs CAPEX

One big reason business haven’t delayed to embrace zero trust is the upfront cost or CAPEX of purchasing firewalls and network equipment. Buying, for a long time now, has meant dropping a lot of green upfront and then dealing with the deprecated and dated hardware later.

With the rental model on Fortinet firewalls you go to an OPEX (their operational costs). Benefits include:

• Initial cost is low, paying in the form of a monthly or quarterly spread
• Agile to add or remove hardware as required
• Manageable cost with predictable budgeting
• No additional charge for the most recent security updates

This OPEX model is particularly appealing for smaller and medium sized businesses that wish the protection of strong zero trust security, but don’t want to commit limited resources to expensive hardware that can go obsolete quickly.

Why Do We Recommend Fortinet Firewall Rentals for Zero Trust?

• Zero trust enabled appliances ready for deployment
• Options to modify or upgrade according to changing security requirements
• No large upfront investment freeing up capital for other needs
• When combined with specialist support, leasing guarantees policy set up and maintenance.

At the end of the day, transitioning to a zero trust firewall flow does not need to be overwhelming. UnWired Networks Fortinet Firewall rentals offer a simple, affordable way to configure micro segment policy enforcement along with automated verification, without a large upfront CAPEX investments. Organizations ‘favoring’ cybersecurity can now act fast and smart with OPEX security spend.

Begin your zero trust evolution now with industry-leader protection and business-friendly pricing in a Fortinet rental.