Fortinet unveils new federal arm
By
Ross Wilkers
Global cyber company Fortinet starts a new standalone subsidiary with its own board of directors to focus on the federal government marketplace.
Global cybersecurity company Fortinet has started a new standalone subsidiary focused on the federal government market in an effort to gain independence and specialization for the company’s cyber products among U.S. public sector agencies.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based security product maker’s announcement comes days after the global “Wannacry” ransomware attack that affected tens of thousands of computers worldwide and more than a dozen hospitals in the U.K.
Fortinet Federal will also have its own board of directors that will offer oversight of the company’s work to fulfill compliance requirements needed to do business in the federal market.
Initial board of directors members include:
- Mike McConnell, former national intelligence director and National Security Agency director
- Gary Locke, former Washington state governor and former commerce secretary
- Phil Quade, Fortinet chief information security officer
- John Whittle, Fortinet vice president of corporate development, strategic alliances and general counsel
- Mike Bossert, Fortinet vice president of sales
Twelve of the 15 Cabinet departments use Fortinet’s products on classified and unclassified systems and the company is also on the NSA Commercial Solutions for Classified approved vendor list. The company also is certified under the federal Common Criteria and FIPS 140-2 programs for information assurance.