Fortinet + AI: The Next Generation of Cloud Security

Artificial intelligence (AI) is now an integral part of our everyday lives. Generative AI (GenAI), in particular, is transforming how organizations work, from streamlining data analytics to reshaping customer interactions. According to Forbes, two-thirds of people use AI regularly, and nearly 80% of organizations do as well.¹

But with rapid adoption comes increased risk. The increased availability of AI-enhanced tools on the dark web has made it easier than ever for attackers to launch sophisticated campaigns. Fortinet's 2025 Threat Landscape Report notes that 85% of security professionals link the ongoing surge in cyberattacks to generative AI tools.²

This blog explores two critical areas:

• Securing AI: Protecting cloud infrastructure with the Fortinet Security Fabric
• Securing with AI: Leveraging Fortinet and third-party AI tools, such as Google Gemini 2.5 Pro, to detect and respond to threats faster

Cloud as the New AI Frontier

AI adoption is accelerating in the cloud. Many organizations are building on providers like Google Cloud, which offers the flexibility and scale that AI workloads demand. Google is investing heavily in this space, committing $85 billion in 2025 to expand its data centers and AI infrastructure, including GPUs and TPUs. Customers benefit from that scale, but moving data into the cloud also expands the attack surface, where every AI workload becomes another potential entry point.

Securing AI

AI systems don't just consume or produce data. They generate, process, and expose it in new ways. That makes them attractive targets for attackers looking to exploit prompt injections, manipulate training data, or exfiltrate sensitive information through model interactions. Because AI infrastructure is both a consumer and a producer of data, it requires its own security strategy.

To address these risks, Fortinet recommends a layered approach to securing your AI infrastructure in the cloud. For the most effective security, these solutions should be part of an integrated platform, such as the Fortinet Security Fabric, which delivers consistent security, centralized management, and visibility across your entire cloud footprint. Key controls include:

Zero trust

Whether AI agents run locally or in Google Cloud, zero-trust principles must apply. Insider threats-from compromised hosts to disgruntled employees-remain a top risk.³ The Fortinet Security Fabric enforces zero-trust network access (ZTNA) through FortiGate, FortiSASE, and FortiWeb, verifying user identity, device posture, and intent before granting access.

Internal segmentation and outbound security

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) has revolutionized the way large language models (LLMs) interact with external data and services, creating a standardized interface that functions like a universal connector. This innovation enables developers to extend AI agents with powerful new capabilities, but it also means those agents can reach deeper into enterprise systems than ever before. The result is a significantly expanded attack surface. A compromised agent could exploit MCP to access sensitive applications or manipulate data flows, turning what was designed as an enabler into a high-risk exposure point.

FortiGate firewalls mitigate this risk through internal segmentation. By utilizing the software-defined network connector in Google Cloud, the FortiGate applies dynamic security policies based on Compute Engine and Kubernetes tags and labels, thereby limiting exposure and containing threats before they spread.

Web application and API security

Once users gain network access, securing web and API interactions is essential. FortiWeb and FortiAppSec Cloud apply AI-driven detection to stop prompt injection, fuzzing, and zero-day exploits targeting AI agents. Integrated data loss prevention further protects sensitive data, blocking unauthorized sharing of Personally Identifiable Information and other confidential information.

Cloud-native application protection

FortiCNAPP delivers end-to-end visibility across cloud environments by integrating cloud security posture management, workload protection, identity and entitlement management, and DevOps integration. This helps customers detect misconfigurations, reduce risk, and strengthen AI-driven applications from development to runtime.

Securing the Cloud with AI and Google Gemini 2.5 Pro

AI also plays an important role in securing your cloud environments. Security teams are often overwhelmed by thousands of daily alerts, many of which are repetitive, low-priority, or lack context. Fortinet GenAI helps cut through that noise by filtering redundant signals, correlating related events, and surfacing the issues that matter most. Instead of manually sifting through raw logs, analysts receive clear summaries that explain the nature of a threat, its severity, and its potential impact. This accelerates mean time to detect and respond, allowing defenders to act before attackers can gain a foothold.

This capability becomes even more powerful when paired with Gemini 2.5 Pro. Gemini 2.5 Pro is a Google-developed model in the Gemini family that brings advanced multimodal reasoning directly into security operations. Using MCP-enabled agents, Gemini 2.5 Pro can interact directly with both the Fortinet Security Fabric and third-party log sources, such as Windows or Nginx servers. By stitching these inputs together, Gemini provides holistic, cross-platform analysis, providing security teams with critical insight into malicious IP addresses, exploited CVEs, attack timelines, and impacted systems-all consolidated into actionable narratives.

Gemini 2.5 Pro doesn't just surface issues. It delivers prioritized recommendations across short-, medium-, and long-term mitigation plans. This helps teams quickly distinguish between urgent threats requiring immediate containment and lower-priority risks that can be addressed strategically.

Looking forward, Fortinet is developing an MCP-based AI agent designed to collect and normalize logs from across Fortinet and third-party systems. Paired with Gemini 2.5 Pro, this innovation will further enhance cross-platform analysis and automation. While still in development, it offers a preview of the next generation of AI-driven security operations, bringing together data from diverse environments and converting it into intelligence that defenders can act on.

AI and Security Must Evolve Together

Cloud security is AI security. As organizations embed AI into everyday workflows, risks extend far beyond your traditional infrastructure. The Fortinet Security Fabric provides an end-to-end platform that protects AI workloads and harnesses AI to strengthen defenses across the extended enterprise. This dual approach-securing AI and securing with AI-ensures that customers stay ahead of attackers who are already weaponizing generative tools.

What sets Fortinet apart is our ability to deliver this protection as a unified system. From zero-trust controls and segmentation to advanced application security and cloud-native protection, every layer works together as part of the Security Fabric. And when combined with AI-powered analysis and automation, organizations gain the visibility, speed, and resilience they need to defend their new digital landscapes. In the AI era, resilience belongs to those who build security in from the start.

¹Marr, Bernard. "Mind-Blowing AI Statistics Everyone Must Know About Now in 2025." Forbes, June 3, 2025.

²Fortinet. 2025 Global Threat Landscape Report. Fortinet Blog (Key Takeaways), April 28, 2025.

³Fortinet. 2025 Global Threat Landscape Report. Fortinet Press Release, April 28, 2025.