User Story: Abdelkrim Rahmania

 We’d like to introduce you to something different today - specifically someone different. This is the first in a series of user stories, where we ask Community members to give us an insight into their background, career and experience in the Fortinet Community.

Abdelkrim is one of our Super Users, and is a great help to many in the forums today. He was kind enough to spare some time for a chat with me on all things Community and Cyber Security.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself, your role and how you came to work in CyberSecurity?

My name is Abdelkrim Rahmania. I am a Project Manager and Solution Architect at Tusna & Data, an Algerian IT solutions integrator.

I started my career in 2004 as system/infra engineer, working mainly as an integrator for Unix SunOS and various data center hardware. Between 2014 and 2016, while keeping up with the news, I noticed that cyberattacks were growing significantly day after day. This sparked my interest, so I started my transition into cybersecurity in 2016.

Around that time, my company created a dedicated cybersecurity department. I joined it immediately, while continuing to support the infrastructure department. Following our sales representative's excellent advice, we partnered with Fortinet right from the start, a decision that quickly allowed us to become an official Fortinet partner.

Late 2019 marked a major boom in cybersecurity. As most companies shifted to remote work, they had to expose their services online via PAM, ZTNA, and sometimes via weak VPN, or even without any protection at all. This sudden exposure of thousands of companies without adequate security measures led to a massive surge in cyberattacks.

How long have you worked with Fortinet products, and what combination of products do you use?

I have been working with Fortinet products since 2016. I started with FortiGate, then moved on to FortiMail and FortiWeb, followed by FortiNAC, FortiClient EMS, and several others.

In my experience, having a strong background in infrastructure and networking is a massive asset in cybersecurity. It ensures you truly understand the core systems you are trying to protect.

As a solution integrator, we do not limit ourselves to a single brand or a single type of product. Instead, we focus on integrating various technologies with one another to build the most effective security solution for our clients.

Do you remember when you first started using Community? We would love to hear more about how you feel it has evolved over the years.

I joined the Fortinet Community in 2021. Before creating my account, I used to browse the forum as a guest just to find solutions. Once I officially subscribed, I felt ready to contribute my own knowledge and was able to help several members right from the start.

To be honest, I have noticed a shift over the last couple of years. It feels like the forum is less active than it used to be. This is likely because users now prefer using AI tools for their technical questions, as AI provides some accurate answers almost instantly.


Finally, what would you like to see next from the Fortinet Community?

Personally, I am very satisfied with the Fortinet Community. I loved it just the way it was, and I love it as it is today.

On the other hand if I had one wish, it would be to find innovative ways to adapt to the challenges posed by today's AI. It will undoubtedly be difficult, but finding a way to integrate or compete with AI tools might well be a matter of survival for traditional forums. Isn't that right?

Massive thanks to Abdelkrim for taking the time to share his experience. If you would like to feature in our User Stories series, please drop me a PM on Community!