Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks Combine Forces to Fight Cybercrime

By TC Doyle

Fortinet and Palo Alto Networks have pooled their strengths to form a new industry consortium to fight cybercrime.

The new Cyber Consortium launches with three key aims, according to the vendors. They are:

“At Fortinet we look forward to collaborating with Palo Alto Networks to continue to improve network security,” said Ken Xie, Fortinet’s Chairman and CEO, in a prepared statement. “We look forward to combining our threat resources to offer customers innovative ways to more comprehensively combat modern day dynamic, sophisticated threats.”

As for the Palo Alto Networks Chairman and CEO Mark McLaughlin, he released the following: “We are pleased to work with another respected innovator like Fortinet to join forces in the ongoing battle against the rapidly evolving threats stemming from advanced malware and APTs. The consortium is a clear response to the demands from the industry for a coordinated response from their technology vendors.”

How the two organizations will achieve their aim of fighting cybercrime, reducing malware attacks and catching criminals isn’t exactly clear. Nor is it clear how many vendors will join in their cause.

At present, the two vendors are the only entities that have announced their participation in the group publically. Others who share similar goals and objectives are welcome to join, the principles said, so long as they meet the minimum requirements for participation, which, according to the consortium, is “the ability to share at least 1,000 samples of new malware executables every day.”

Those with reservations about sharing data that may be directly linked back to customers need not worry. According to the organization’s bylaws, members won’t be asked for anything customer related, just rogue code. “By focusing the sharing on malware executables, we are able to maintain the trusted relationships we have with our customers,” the consortium said.