MC EXCLUSIVE Fortinet deepens intelligence sharing with India against growing AI-driven cybersecurity threats

Fortinet

Cybersecurity major Fortinet is working closely with the Indian government to share real-time intelligence on emerging cyber threats and protect critical infrastructure, as 5G connectivity expands, Vivek Srivastava, country manager, Fortinet India, has told Moneycontrol.

During a recent “geopolitical conflict”, the company ensured faster and more relevant information exchange with authorities and CERT-IN, helping them safeguard key national assets, he said, without specifying the conflict he was referring to.

“We partner with the Indian government in multiple ways. One aspect is providing them with intelligence on what we are seeing. This is a tradition Fortinet follows globally… we work with CERTs, Interpol, the Cyber Threat Alliance, and the World Economic Forum to share visibility into emerging threats so authorities can take quick action,” Srivastava said.

The American firm, which has been in India for about 20 years, claims to have secured around 40,000 private and public sector institutions, including key citizen services.

“Some of the most critical citizen services in India are protected by Fortinet infrastructure — from fintech startups to space programmes,” Srivastava said.

Cyberattacks are becoming more sophisticated and frequent as adversaries increasingly weaponise artificial intelligence (AI), even turning average users into potential attackers.

Geopolitical tensions often trigger spikes in such activity, with adversaries exploiting global events to launch coordinated strikes. The availability of easy-to-use attack tools has also lowered the entry barrier, enabling even average IT users to become potential cyber adversaries.

“Adversaries today are relentless and far more collaborative. They are using AI in every phase of their attacks, making cyber risks industrialised,” he said.

The rise of 5G networks brings both opportunities and new challenges. “The threat itself hasn’t changed but the scale of impact has. With 5G, more entities and users are interconnected, meaning attacks can affect far more people, much faster,” he said.

AI is also helping defenders, with Fortinet leveraging it to detect and respond to threats more quickly.

FortiGuard Labs processes over 100 billion events a day, using AI-driven algorithms to identify potential attacks. It has also developed FortiAI Assist, an AI-driven capability embedded in its products that allows customers to automate complex security operations, even when skilled manpower is limited.

India as a global R&D and innovation hub

Beyond serving as a key cybersecurity market, India plays a strategic role in Fortinet’s global innovation and R&D efforts.

The company operates service and R&D facilities in Bengaluru and Pune and has acquired local startups to strengthen its global technology base.

“India is not just a source of business for us, it’s a source of talent, innovation, and new ideas,” Srivastava said. “We were one of the earliest cybersecurity vendors to invest in India, and some of the startups we acquired here today serve very important functions within Fortinet globally.”

The company is also exploring inorganic opportunities to enhance its capabilities.

“There might be evaluations happening,” Srivastava said, without sharing more details.
Fortinet is also investing in cybersecurity skilling, partnering with AICTE and about 200 universities to train 100,000 professionals.

“From fintech startups to space programmes, our mission is to safeguard India’s digital assets while helping build the next generation of cyber talent,” Srivastava said.