The bilingual financial co-operative Caisse Populaires du Manitoba has selected security appliances from Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Fortinet to protect its multi-platform member and employee networks, according to a Fortinet press release. With a mixture of Windows, UNIX and Linux systems in Caisse Populaires’ enterprise delivering critical business applications, the firm is deploying Fortinet’s FortiGate systems to secure the networks handling data of more than 30,000 members spanning 30 branch office sites with 250 employees, including remote users. The scalability of the Fortinet solution “allowed us to implement a full end-to-end cost-effective network security platform, with a critical eye towards minimizing unnecessary capital expenditures, tools from numerous vendors and burdensome administration,” a news release attributed to Bernie Marcoux, Caisse Populaires’ director of information technology. More specifically, Caisse Populaires deployed Fortinet’s enterprise-class FortiGate-500 and mid-range FortiGate-200 security appliances to provide complete content security for its headquarters and data centre. Additionally, FortiGate-60 small/medium business (SMB) security appliances are deployed for content protection at each branch location with an automated teller machine. The ASIC-accelerated FortiGate systems’ VPN throughput ensures minimal network lag for Caisse Populaires’ heavily used network. In July, Scotiabank and McAfee Inc. announced a partnership that offers Scotia’s online banking customers a discount on McAfee VirusScan and McAfee Personal Firewall Plus. Sharon Hodder, vice-president, Internet Services, Scotiabank, said in a statement that the rebate “further enables Scotia OnLine customers to take the necessary steps to protect their privacy and security as recommended by our safe computing practices.” Scotia OnLine customers can purchase either VirusScan or Personal Firewall Plus separately or both products as part of the McAfee Web Essentials package. All choices are offered at a 30 per cent discount for one-year subscriptions including automatic updates to the software during the subscription period. — with file from Robert McMillan, IDG News Service | 
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