2 min

Fortinet and Linksys have announced a collaboration to better secure home offices. To this end, cybersecurity company Fortinet is investing 75 million dollars in the network equipment manufacturer.

The two companies want to add the security and capabilities of enterprise equipment to Linksys’ wireless routers. What functionality the two companies mean by this exactly is not mentioned in the press release.

Security-driven networking

“When organizations implement telework at scale, cyber criminals leap at the opportunity to exploit the numerous security gaps that arise. Security-driven networking—a strategy that converges networking and security across the connected environment, from the core, into the cloud, and to the branch and remote workers —enables organizations to see and defend today’s highly dynamic environments while preserving an excellent user experience”, stated Ken Xie, CEO of Fortinet. “We are excited to partner with Linksys to deliver enterprise-grade secure, reliable network connectivity for home-based workers.”

Sidney Lu, CEO of Linksys parent company FIT Hon Teng, is also pleased. “We are pleased to welcome Fortinet as a strategic partner in providing secured connectivity for consumers and remote professionals. The collaboration is a testament to the ongoing strength and reach of the Linksys business. We look forward to leveraging Fortinet’s proven cybersecurity expertise to capitalize on new opportunities.”

Home networks often poorly secured

In the past year, the focus on home workers has grown significantly. These home workers generally use consumer network devices. These often offer less functionality and security features than their business counterparts. Also, consumers are, on average, quite careless about setting up security features and keeping up with updates. Fortinet and Linksys may want to address this and also give businesses more control over the security of the home networks they use.

Tip: ‘Popular home routers are full of vulnerabilities’