Fortinet AI-powered Solutions Cut Incident Response Time from 3 Weeks to 1 Hour

Fortinet® has revealed the impressive outcomes of an independent analysis conducted by Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG). The study focuses on showcasing the valuable benefits that customers gain from using Fortinet’s security operations solutions. These benefits include improved detection, containment, investigation, and response capabilities, along with up to 86% greater operational efficiency for security teams. The positive effects also extend to reduced cyber risk, increased productivity, and the ability of existing teams to achieve more in less time. All of these advancements come with an investment payback period as short as one month.

Thorough Assessment Process

ESG’s analysis involved detailed interviews with end-users to understand how each organization managed critical security functions. By combining these interviews with technical documentation, case studies, third-party analyses, and industry data, ESG established benchmarks for potential risk reduction, time savings, and cost efficiencies.

Significant Benefits in Three Key Areas

The analysis revealed that organizations that embraced Fortinet’s Security Operations solutions experienced tangible benefits in three main areas:

1. Early Detection and Prevention (EDP): The time required to identify threats was dramatically reduced from 168 hours (21 business days) to just seconds or less than an hour using Fortinet’s EDP technologies. These technologies leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced behavioral analytics, resulting in swift threat detection. The time needed to triage these threats also dropped significantly, from eight hours to only 10 minutes, while containment time decreased from 4.2 hours to just one minute, thanks to Fortinet’s integrated approach.
2. Central Analytics and Response Automation (CARA): Threat investigation time plummeted from six hours to a minute or even less, owing to the automation enabled by Fortinet’s CARA components. These components include FortiAnalyzer, FortiSIEM, FortiXDR, FortiSOAR, and managed detection and response services. Importantly, the time taken to remediate threats was substantially reduced from 12.5 hours to a range of 5 to 10 minutes in most cases.
3. Training and Preparation: Fortinet’s emphasis on user and analyst training led to fewer risks from phishing attacks and improved incident readiness and response. Notably, one organization reported an 84% decrease in the number of individuals clicking on malicious links. Moreover, cybersecurity education resulted in quicker onboarding and increased productivity, efficiency, and capabilities within security teams.

Operational Efficiency and Cost Savings

In addition to accelerated incident handling, ESG’s analysis also considered operational savings related to security team productivity. The findings revealed that Fortinet’s EDP technologies could reduce the time spent per incident by a significant 86%, saving around $993,000 annually in work-related expenses. By incorporating Fortinet’s CARA technologies, the time savings increased to a staggering 99%, resulting in avoidance of approximately $1.14 million in yearly operational costs.

Furthermore, ESG’s report projected that Fortinet’s products could reduce the average time exposed to risk by up to 99% with combined EDP and CARA technologies. This reduction in exposure would potentially save organizations an average of $1.3 million in expected costs due to cyberattacks.

Considering the combined benefits of enhanced productivity, cost savings, and risk mitigation, the projected payback period ranges from a mere 1 to 2.5 months for Fortinet’s EDP technology. For the combination of EDP and CARA technologies, the expected payback period stands at approximately 1 to 1.7 months.

Automated Security Operations

Fortinet’s SecOps Fabric utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning to span the expansive digital attack surface, from network to endpoint, application, and cloud. This integration detects and responds to elements designed to evade traditional security measures, ensuring a prompt return to safe operations.