Security Month
Presented by Vertali
Future-Proof Your Mainframe: Highlights from Vanguard 2025 and Enhancing Security with ACF2 TM and Top Secret®
At the recent Vanguard Security & Compliance 2025 event (VSC 2025), security leaders came together to address today’s toughest mainframe security challenges, ranging from credential theft to Zero Trust adoption. As a Platinum Sponsor, Broadcom highlighted how...
The Hidden Cybersecurity Battle Inside the Mainframe 🎧
Mainframes remain the backbone of enterprise IT—but as cyber threats evolve, so must the defenses. In this podcast, Ken Chism, Head of Worldwide Cybersecurity Sales at BMC Software, shares an inside look at the changing landscape of mainframe security. Ken discusses...
Make the Switch Now: Why Broadcom’s MFA is a Mainframe Must-Have
Written by: Jose Arias, CISSP, ITILMainframe Security Specialist Imagine the surprise when, as an occasional gym visitor, you return to your fitness center one day, eager to resume your workouts, only to find that the familiar wristband is no longer the key to access....
Mainframe security—Early Warning needed to beat back hackers
The stages in a mainframe breach are familiar to most mainframers these days. Firstly, the bad actors need to gain access to the mainframe. That is as simple as going to the web and buying a user id and password combo for as little as $120. But even worse if the...
The Evolution of Cybersecurity. From Cascade to Quantum
Cybersecurity is a journey. The last three decades show that hackers and security teams have continually competed with each other, adapting to a changing environment. Both have learned from each other, but cybersecurity has—perhaps inevitably—always had to catch up to...
Introducing Cyber Security Month
We trust you've appreciated our September series, centered around Db2. Over the past few weeks, we've had the pleasure of sharing over 10 fresh, original Db2 articles with our dedicated audience. Today, we are thrilled to introduce an engaging new theme for...
Make Security Your Competitive Advantage
“If you spend more on coffee than on IT security, you will be hacked.” That was according to Richard Clarke, former special advisor on cybersecurity to the US President. He added, “What’s more, you deserve to be hacked,” which does seem a little harsh. Maybe...
Securing CICS with RACF
Implementing CICS Security with RACF can be a complex and demanding process. In order to do it to a level that creates a good balance can take time and requires good knowledge and understanding of both CICS and RACF. So I will explain the various steps in securing...
Security Month
Presented by Vertali
Lost in translation? Why mainframers and non-mainframers need to communicate
In today’s connected world and with security high on the agenda, IT people across the enterprise have to understand each other. Mainframers need to be able to talk to non-mainframers with clarity, and vice-versa. Managers in the enterprise need to understand both...
Securing data in transit
One way of looking at mainframe data is that it is either at rest or in transit. Data at rest is data that is not actively moving from device to device or network to network such as data stored on DASD or tape or some other way. Sometimes, data at rest is thought to...
Pervasive encryption concerns
In today’s treacherous world of constant hacking threats and corresponding data breaches, IT security and breach prevention has become a top-line concern for everyone in large IT organizations. With over six million data records lost or stolen every day – that’s...
Multi-Factor Authentication
There was a time when mainframes were in a world of their own, separated from other computing platforms. A world where even the mainframe staff seldom mixed with the distributed people, and managers had no idea what the mainframe did or how it did it. People who...
Database security – You need to pay better attention to it
Almost 2 years ago, it was reported that over 10,000 MongoDB databases had been deleted by ransomware groups - and much of that was done in a week's time. Let that sink in for a minute - 10,000 databases in a week - it's mind boggling. Makes you think twice about your...
Why mainframe shops are procrastinating over multi-factor authentication
In my last article I outlined why, for a number of reasons, mainframe shops are growing increasingly aware of the importance of bolstering security on their ‘Big Iron’ box. Despite that, in this piece I want to discuss why some organizations are procrastinating over...
Who’s afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?
Or: We need to talk about mainframe hacking There’s an elephant in the room says Mark Wilson. It’s mainframe-sized, at serious risk of being hacked, and its name is Z. “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” That was US president Franklin D. Roosevelt at his...
Do I need real-time, continuous, mainframe security monitoring and auditing?
To be honest, mainframes are pretty secure, aren’t they? We’ve had RACF and other External Security Managers (ESMs) for years. On top of that, the new z14 gives us pervasive encryption. And there are any number of logs recording what’s going on on Z, and we can run...
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Upcoming Events
Events
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Virtual CICS User Group | Latest Update on Security in CICS TS 6.3: The Journey to Zero Trust
Zoom - Virtual MeetingCICS has been advocating zero trust principles and introducing security-focused enhancements since CICS TS 6.1. This session will explore the latest security capabilities available in CICS TS 6.3 and how […]
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The Enterprise AI Reality Check: Trust, Security, and Operational Intelligence
FeaturedAI has captured the attention of virtually every enterprise. Yet many organizations continue to struggle with a critical question: Can AI be trusted to make recommendations in complex, mission-critical mainframe […]
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Workload Automation (CA 7 & ESP) User Group Workshops & Event
Register now for the Workload Automation (CA 7 & ESP) User Group Workshops & Event Night October 19, 2026 | Plano, Texas We are excited to announce WLA (CA 7 […]
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North American Mainframe Technical Exchange – Plano, Texas – October 20 – 22, 2026
Virtual MeetingSave the Date! Learn more about the North American and Virtual Mainframe Technical Exchanges here.
Free
What the New IBM z17 Rack-Mount Systems Bring to the Table
The z17 goes small, and I think that’s rather clever. On July 7, 2026, IBM announced new configurations of the z17, and for the first time ever, you can now get a rack-mount option right across the Z and LinuxONE portfolio. Not a new processor, not a new architecture,...
❓ROI, Business Case, and Tuning for Value: Round Two
This month at Planet Mainframe Trivia, we've been exploring how organizations maximize the value of their mainframe investments. Creating value doesn't end once a project is approved. Organizations continually look for ways to improve performance, optimize resources,...
Compact z17 and LinuxONE Systems, Real-Time Mainframe Software Visibility, and more
IBM Launches Compact z17 and LinuxONE Systems to Address Space and Cost Constraints Kyndryl Report: AI adoption accelerates as workforce readiness becomes the ROI difference maker Precisely Delivers Real-Time Mainframe Software Visibility to the ServiceNow AI Platform...
❓ROI, Business Case and Tuning for Value Trivia: Round One
For July’s Planet Mainframe Trivia Quizzes, we're exploring the fundamentals of measuring value and making informed technology decisions. Whether the investment involves modernizing a mainframe environment, optimizing workloads, or deploying new enterprise...
Overestimating AI in Mainframe Migrations, Strategic Collaboration Agreement, and more
Gartner Warns Against Overestimating AI in Mainframe Migrations IBM, Red Hat, and Deloitte Announce Lightwell Collaboration to Help Strengthen Open Source Software Supply Chain Trust BMC to Separate Helix AI ServiceOps Business Kyndryl and AWS sign expanded strategic...
❓Mainframe History Trivia: Mauchly and Eckert
This week at Planet Mainframe Trivia we’re dipping back into the deep history of computing with a quiz on the work of John Mauchly and J. Presper Eckert—two of the most influential pioneers in the history of computing. Their work helped move electronic computers from...