Fortinet Becomes the Primary Cybersecurity Provider for DITO Telecommunity
DITO Telecom, poised to become the third-largest telecom in the Philippines, has agreed to use Fortinet as its primary cybersecurity provider. With the Fortinet Security Fabric architecture, DITO can provide its users with comprehensive, seamless, proactive protection that covers the entire attack surface, including both users in the Philippines and those with whom they interact on DITO’s network.
DITO’s Chief Administrative Officer Adel Tamano highlighted the importance of the deal as it pertains to the company’s position as an up-and-coming force in telecommunications in the Philippines. He noted that “as part of the New Major Player selection process,” DITO has chosen to submit their “cybersecurity plan during the bidding process to prove that [their] networks and facilities will not compromise national security and shall abide with the National Cybersecurity Plan.”
DITO’s move comes shortly after the Philippine government granted it permission to construct cell towers within military camps. Over 800 towers have been erected, and another 500 are in the works. DITO’s choice of Fortinet is an investment in tight, reliable cybersecurity designed to secure their operations as they pledge to serve around 37% of the country’s population.
Backed by China Telecom and Dennis Uy’s Udenna Corporation
DITO Telecommunity is a joint venture between China Telecom and Udenna Corporation, which is run by Dennis Uy. Mr. Uy is a diplomat and businessman who works within a variety of industries, including petroleum, gas, oil, real estate, education, gaming, and logistics.
China Telecom is one of the companies within the portfolio of the state-run China Telecommunications Corporation. They currently have around 336 million users throughout China.
Fortinet Makes Deeper Inroads into the Philippines
Fortinet has long been a leading cybersecurity provider in the Philippines. The Fortinet next-generation firewall (NGFW) and other security solutions have been incorporated by leading businesses in the area for several years. At the beginning of 2015, Fortinet Chinese Company designated MEC Networks Corporation as its primary distributor in the Philippines. MEC Networks is one of the largest information and communications technology (ICT) providers in the country. The move to partner with DITO is similar in that both MEC and the organizations forming DITO have many years of experience delivering cutting-edge telecommunications and IT services in Asia.
Fortinet—The Primary Cybersecurity Provider in China
For years, Fortinet has been the primary cybersecurity provider in China, supporting a variety of organizations across a range of industries. The Chinese Minsheng Banking Corporation, for example, uses the Fortinet FortiGate solution to safeguard its service networks while simultaneously controlling who is granted access. Also, WeLab, which provides online financial services to millions of corporate users in Hong Kong and mainland China, uses FortiGate, FortiWeb, FortiMail, and FortiSandbox to keep its operations secure from threats. Fortinet’s solution for WeLab was built to work within the Amazon Web Services (AWS) architecture and also serves Indonesia.
Fortinet—The Leading Cybersecurity Provider Worldwide
In addition to China and Indonesia, Fortinet provides security services to several other nations and jurisdictions across the globe. Taiwanese government agencies such as the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and the National Security Bureau all use Fortinet to secure their digital infrastructure.
In Europe, Fortinet has established a FortiCloud data center, which is based in Germany. This cloud data center enables European clients to leverage the power of hosted cybersecurity services to keep their corporate and private data securely nestled within European borders.
Similar to DITO, with the Fortinet European data center, enterprises within the European Union (EU) can make use of the Fortinet Security Fabric. Fortinet’s tools make it easier for institutions and businesses to conform to national security compliance requirements, paving the way for organizations to engage in business without breaking the bounds of the regulation.
While the DITO deal involves a state-backed organization, the Fortinet suite of security options—including the Fortinet virtual private network (VPN), FortiGate, and others—has also been employed by major private enterprises whose offerings are central to national infrastructure. In Iceland, Origo, a leading IT services provider, used FortiGate and FortiClient to meet a sudden spike in demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s legacy VPN was overwhelmed with the task of providing secure remote access. Using the FortiGate NGFW and the Fortinet FortiClient VPN, Origo was able to provide safe remote access while protecting its endpoints as well.
Fortinet has been serving companies within these and other countries for many years. Now that DITO has tapped Fortinet as its primary cybersecurity provider, Fortinet will be able to bring secure communications to millions of users across the Philippines as well.
