Fortinet Introduces FortiLink SASE for Microbranches

Fortinet has introduced the FortiLink SASE service, a new solution designed to simplify cybersecurity for small branch offices, remote facilities, and temporary sites (known as microbranches). The service allows companies to connect their wired and wireless local networks directly to the cloud-based FortiSASE architecture. As a result, distributed remote locations can be effectively protected and managed via a single central console without the need to install a dedicated on-premise firewall (such as a physical FortiGate appliance) on site.

Protection for IoT Devices and Agentless Networks
In small branches, IT teams must often secure a heterogeneous mix of employee laptops and "headless" devices like printers, surveillance cameras, and IoT sensors. Traditional endpoint security agents (like FortiClient) cannot be run on many of these systems. The FortiLink SASE service solves this problem by connecting supported Fortinet Wi-Fi access points and Ethernet switches directly to the cloud. This centralizes traffic inspection and the enforcement of security policies for the entire local network. This agentless approach significantly reduces operational complexity and hardware costs at the network edge (thin edge).

Additional Context: SASE Architecture and Agentless IoT Security
This section describes network topologies and cybersecurity principles not included in the original press release.

In traditional enterprise networks (hub-and-spoke model), all traffic from branch offices was routed via expensive lines to a central data center for security inspection (Deep Packet Inspection). With the rise of cloud applications, this led to massive latency issues (the "trombone effect"). The Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) architecture instead shifts these security functions (such as Secure Web Gateway, Cloud Access Security Broker, and Firewall-as-a-Service) directly into the cloud, close to the user. The specific technical challenge in microbranches, however, is securing Internet of Things (IoT) devices, which neither have an operating system for endpoint agents nor justify the deployment of a local Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW). By establishing a secure IPsec or GRE tunnel directly from the local network switch or Wi-Fi access point into the SASE cloud, the FortiLink SASE service intercepts all traffic at the network level and filters it in the cloud. This enables strict network segmentation and the enforcement of Zero-Trust policies for unmanaged devices without having to expand the local hardware infrastructure.

Edited by industrial journalist Lekshman Ramdas, with AI assistance.

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