Case Study: a municipal utility agency strengthens OT network security and compliance with Fortinet

Municipal Utility Agency strengthens OT security and passes NERC CIP audit with Fortinet

The municipal utility agency, serving over 150,000 electric and water customers in Michigan, faced the challenge of securing its complex operational technology (OT) network to ensure resilient power and water services and comply with stringent industry cybersecurity standards like NERC CIP. To address these issues, they partnered with Fortinet.

Fortinet implemented its Security Fabric solution, utilizing FortiGate Next-Generation Firewalls for segmentation, FortiSwitch for connectivity, and a suite of products including FortiToken and FortiAuthenticator for multi-factor access control. The results included improved security visibility and faster threat response, successful compliance audits praised by examiners, and reduced management overhead. Notably, the entire new Fortinet network cost roughly the same as the annual support contract for their eight legacy firewalls, delivering significant budget efficiency alongside enhanced protection.