You could argue – as some folks have – that mainframes are inherently more secure than commodity servers because there are fewer variables at play on mainframe systems, making them easier to secure in some ways. The fact that mainframes account for a relatively small...
In the Db2 for z/OS module called DSNZPARM (ZPARM, for short), which provides the configuration settings for a Db2 subsystem, there is a parameter named SEPARATE_SECURITY. This ZPARM was introduced with Db2 10, and its purpose is to enable a Db2 for z/OS-using...
Quantum Safe Cryptography The Problem – Current Cryptography is Vulnerable to Quantum Computing Cryptography experts believe that by 2030 quantum computers will be advanced enough to cut the strength of symmetric key algorithms (such as AES, 3DES and RC4) by half, and...
My mac had turned into a bit of a mess. I had ssh private keys (that use Passphrases of course!) in a variety of places and I wasn’t very happy about it. I have several different servers that I connect to. There are a few GitHub systems, a Linux system, and of course...
Resiliency is an integral part of the IBM Z platform. The IBM Z Cyber Vault solution is a concept for addressing data corruption whether through malicious intent, human error or failure of hardware or software. It provides an air gapped backup of the operating...
You may be aware of data privacy regulations such as Europe’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) or California’s CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) that, among other things, ban you from using production data with personally identifiable information, such...
For a considerable time, many organizations have used three to five on-premise databases to manage their workloads, and many teams have tried to funnel every application into using those databases. Today, as the pressure to innovate while keeping costs low...
In RACF security terminology, CICS is a resource manager. Resource manager security can be enabled or disabled. Dallas Z ISV RDP provided CICS security is disabled. Why? CICS manages many resources where enabling security requires decisions about which specific CICS...
For everyone with a mainframe, cyber security and cyber resiliency are important. For financial institutions, a major breach could, potentially, not only lead to the company going out of business, but, as we saw in 2008, could also lead to significant parts of the...
It’s an ill wind that blows no good, and profits nobody. That old nautical phrase popped into my head when I first heard about the SolarWinds supply chain compromise. We’ll return to that later, and its implications. But first I wanted to take a look at a few of the...
