Both attackers and defenders use Generative AI, says experts The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in cybersecurity has transformed threat detection and response, making systems more adaptive and resilient against evolving cyber threats. Alongside this, the convergence of networking and security has been key in shaping the industry’s future. “Our implementation of AI across the Fortinet security fabric aids in zero-day threat detection and enables IT teams to refine and resolve networking and security issues before they can impact the organisation,” Vishak Raman, Fortinet’s vice-president of sales for India, SAARC, South East Asia Hong Kong (SEAHK) & Australia, New Zealand (ANZ) regions, tells Sudhir Chowdhary. Excerpts: How is the threat landscape changing with the advent of generative AI? Given the potential impact of cyber risks on business resiliency and increased regulatory requirements, cybersecurity must be seen as an enterprise risk-management imperative. Organisations need an integrated security approach designed to consolidate point products and enable policy enforcement across the entire attack surface, providing threat detection and response in real-time at network edges, multi-cloud, datacentre and OT environments. How is Fortinet using GenAI to accelerate threat investigation and remediation? AI has been the backbone of the Fortinet Security Fabric and FortiGuard Labs’ threat intelligence and security services. We’ve delivered more than 40 AI-powered offerings to aid in zero-day threat detection, help remediate today’s most sophisticated attacks and enable IT teams to refine and resolve networking and security issues before they impact the organisation. A new addition to our AI portfolio is Fortinet Advisor, a generative AI (GenAI) assistant designed to protect customers and keep business operations online. It provides contextually aware incident analysis, remediation guidance, and playbook templates. Tell us about your business focus areas and growth opportunities for 2024? We look forward to focusing our business growth around secure networking, Universal SASE (Secure Access Service Edge), and security operations. The secure networking market is driven by our Hybrid Mesh Firewall, which has the industry’s highest performance rating and is the most widely deployed solution globally in terms of appliances sold. Our Universal SASE solution converges networking, SD-WAN connectivity, and cloud-delivered security through a single operating system, available both in the cloud and as an appliance. This ensures zero-trust access and control for any user on any device from any location. We recently announced new AI and machine learning capabilities in our SecOps portfolio to improve efficacy, increase effectiveness, and accelerate the time to resolution of attacks. What are the investments that Fortinet is making in these areas to sustain business growth? In a rapidly evolving threat landscape, our primary investment focus is staying ahead of the curve. This drive for innovation is not only our biggest competitive advantage but is also reflected in the large number of current and pending patents that we have filed. Universal SASE and security operations are rapidly growing markets where we see significant opportunities for growth and where we can meet the evolving needs of our customers. India is a critical market and a hub of innovation for Fortinet.We have recently invested in two dedicated data centres in Bangalore and Pune. These facilities are central to our strategy for delivering Universal SASE, FortiCloud, and AI-powered security services. Our robust R&D presence in India underscores our commitment to continuous innovation. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn
Logistics, good or bad, are driven by the states and the commerce ministry has a LEADS (Logistics Ease Across Different States) report, based on perceptions. The 2023 version was released in December. Since states are heterogenous, in the reporting, they are divided into four groups—coastal, landlocked, north-east, and UTs. States that do well are called achievers. Nomenclature matters. Thus, states that are middling aren’t called average. They are called fast movers. States that are sub-par are called aspirers. Let me highlight coastal states, since 75% of export cargo is estimated to originate from them. Among coastal states, ones that do well are Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu. The ones that lag are Goa, Odisha, and West Bengal. While India’s logistics performance may have improved over time, that’s not true of every state. Some have slipped. Most states have a state-level logistics policy, including Goa and Odisha. West Bengal, bottom of the pecking order in the coastal category, doesn’t have one. To quote from LEADS 2023, “Looking ahead, the State (West Bengal) could benefit from formulating a State Logistics Master Plan and State Logistics Policy to drive efficiency improvements and facilitate investments within the logistics sector and undertake consultation with the logistics stakeholders for educating and informing them about the initiatives State is undertaking for the development and improvement of logistics sector.”
Logistics has been talked about for a long time and India has also focused on improving performance. We are now getting some precise data on measurement and quantification. That helps.
Bibek Debroy, chairman, EAC-PM. Views are personal.