FireMon Security Manager vs FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (FortiGate CNF) comparison

The increasing complexity of networks, driven by the constant influx of new devices, applications, and cloud services, presents a daunting challenge for managing firewall policies and rules. A typical enterprise environment has millions of rules, and just one simple misconfiguration can lead to devastating consequences like compliance violations, outages, and data breaches. 

FireMon’s Security Manager is a purpose-built network security policy management (NSPM) platform that automates the management of firewall and cloud security policies to eliminate policy-related risk, accurately and quickly change rules, and meet internal and external compliance requirements.

• Reduce Risk Manage risk with real-time visibility and control
• Manage Change Avoid misconfigurations, accelerate business, and improve security
• Enforce and Maintain Compliance Avoid violations, avoid risk, and avoid fines

FortiGate Cloud-Native Firewall (CNF) is a cloud-native, next-generation firewall as a service (FWaaS) that delivers enterprise-grade security for dynamic cloud environments like AWS and Azure.

FortiGate CNF offers seamless protection by automatically scaling to meet the needs of modern cloud environments. By focusing on threat prevention for malware, data exfiltration, botnets, and compliance violations, it simplifies operations and reduces costs by being managed entirely by Fortinet. With capabilities like intrusion prevention, web filtering, and DNS security, FortiGate CNF integrates smoothly with cloud service tools such as AWS Firewall Manager, ensuring centralized policy management across cloud and on-premise deployments.

What are the core features?

• Intrusion Prevention System (IPS): Protects against known and emerging threats without sacrificing performance.
• Web Filtering: Monitors and controls access to web resources to prevent malicious content.
• DNS Security: Protects against DNS-based threats and improves network reliability.
• East-West Traffic Security: Prevents lateral movement of threats across different trust zones.
• Outbound Traffic Inspection: Ensures outgoing traffic is inspected and filtered to prevent data leaks to malicious destinations.

What benefits can users expect?

• Cost Efficiency: Lower operational costs with cloud-native management and simplified security operations.
• Scalability: Automatic scaling matches the elastic nature of cloud environments without manual intervention.
• Integration: Seamless connection with existing FortiManager deployments and cloud service tools for enhanced management.
• Comprehensive Threat Protection: Offers advanced threat detection and prevention for securing workloads effectively.

FortiGate CNF is particularly useful in industries that require stringent security measures, offering flexible, scalable protection while simplifying compliance management in sectors like finance, healthcare, and technology. By integrating with existing infrastructures, it provides robust security aligned with industry-specific needs.