What is the primary purpose of SSL inspection in FortiGate?

The primary purpose of SSL inspection in FortiGate is to decrypt and inspect SSL/TLS traffic. Many modern web applications and services use SSL/TLS to encrypt traffic for security. While this encryption protects data in transit, it also poses a challenge for security devices, as they cannot analyze or inspect the encrypted traffic for threats. SSL inspection allows FortiGate to perform a "man-in-the-middle" operation, where it temporarily decrypts the traffic, analyzes it for threats or policy violations, and then re-encrypts it before sending it on to the intended destination. This capability is vital for maintaining network security, as it ensures that potential threats hidden within encrypted sessions can be identified and remediated.

The other options, while related to network security, do not capture the primary function of SSL inspection. Optimizing network traffic deals more with performance and efficiency rather than security inspection. Enforcing compliance relates to adhering to regulatory standards, which can benefit from SSL inspection but does not define its primary purpose. Configuring firewall rules is a fundamental function of firewalls but does not specifically pertain to the inspection of SSL/TLS traffic. Thus, the emphasis on decrypting and inspecting SSL/TLS traffic is what makes this option the most accurate reflection of SSL