On May 19, 2026, the Vareal team had the opportunity to attend Fortinet Accelerate 26 APAC, held at the JW Marriott Hotel — one of the largest cybersecurity events in the region, bringing together over 100 industry experts, engineers, partners, and Fortinet customers.

The central theme revolved around emerging security threats in the age of AI explosion — and the solutions Fortinet is deploying in response. Here is what we observed.

The Big Picture: AI Is Changing the Game If cyberattacks once moved at the pace of human operators, today that speed has been multiplied thousandfold by AI. Experts call this machine-speed attack — offensive operations executed at machine velocity that traditional defense processes simply cannot keep up with.

“The majority of internet bandwidth in the near future will be connections between AI Agents — not between humans.”

This creates a new reality: the security battle will be a confrontation between AI Threat and AI Protection. Humans don’t disappear from this picture, but the role shifts — from incident responders to strategic decision-makers in a human-in-the-loop model.

KEY TOPICS AT THE CONFERENCE

• OT Security: Securing operational technology in industrial environments.

• Cloud System: Safety of cloud infrastructure.

• Geopolitics: Geopolitical impact on cybersecurity.

• Human Factor: The role of people in the security chain.

Risks as Agentic AI Enters Production As AI Agents are deeply integrated into operational systems — especially in OT environments at factories and production facilities — the attack surface expands accordingly:

• Hacking & System Intrusion: Exploiting vulnerabilities in AI Agents to control edge devices or operational infrastructure.

• Data Theft & Model Theft: Intellectual property embedded in internal AI models becomes a prime target for adversaries.

• Supply Chain Risks: Risks from third-party packages and modules integrated into systems — a challenge very familiar to engineering teams.

What Is Fortinet Doing? Fortinet presented a range of solutions targeting specific pain points. Notable highlights include:

• FortiAIGate: Defense against Agentic AI threats.

• FortiDLP: Data leak prevention.

• FortiSOC + FortiAI: SOC team offloading and automation.

• FortiCASB / SSPM: SaaS app management and security.

• FortiSASE Shadow Security: Shadow AI visibility and control.

• Secure Browser SASE: Remote access protection.

• SOCaaS & FortiSOC Cloud Protection: Security as a service.

Notably, Fortinet is pushing beyond standalone products toward synchronized integration — an approach well-suited to large organizations but one that requires careful consideration of cost and deployment feasibility for small and medium-sized businesses.

Vareal’s Perspective — Opportunities and Next Steps Vareal currently serves clients who operate manufacturing facilities, so the themes around OT Security and supply chain attack risks carry clear, practical reference value for us.

Moreover, as AI is being widely adopted across internal workflows, the question of controlling prompts from AI Agents — and preventing data leakage through AI — is a challenge we need to start taking more seriously.

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS

Upgrade existing FortiGate devices to a compatible version; consider upgrading to FortiOS 8.0 — the first version with native AI support.

Evaluate and plan the deployment of DLP (Data Leak Protection) for the internal environment.

Conduct regular security audits of packages and modules in active projects. Prioritize resolving Critical-level vulnerabilities on both client and internal Vareal systems.

Fortinet Accelerate 26 APAC was not merely a product showcase — it was a clear signal that the security industry is entering a fundamentally new era. Early awareness, early preparation — that is the advantage Vareal can leverage from this experience.

Vareal • Summary from Fortinet Accelerate 26 APAC • May 2026