What are security policies in FortiGate used for?

Security policies in FortiGate are essential for defining the rules that determine which network traffic is allowed or denied through the device. These policies play a crucial role in establishing the security posture of the network by specifying what types of traffic can flow between different network segments and who can access resources. By configuring security policies, administrators can enforce security measures such as permitting or blocking specific applications, services, and protocols based on the organization’s needs.

In addition to controlling access, security policies help in implementing security measures like logging, alerting, and applying security profiles (such as antivirus, intrusion prevention, and web filtering) to the traffic that matches the defined criteria. This centralizes control over the network's security and helps protect against unauthorized access and potential threats.

The other options focus on different functionalities that do not directly pertain to security policies. Managing user access levels is generally related to user authentication and authorization mechanisms, configuring hardware resources pertains to the performance optimization of the appliance, and creating backup copies of configuration settings is associated with configuration management rather than the definition of traffic rules.