Security Month
Presented by Vertali
The Paradox of Mainframe Security: Most Secure Yet Still Vulnerable
The most secure system in the world is also vulnerable. Mainframes remain the backbone of critical infrastructure—but they are not immune to modern threats. Some still see mainframes as unbreakable fortresses, while others view them as legacy systems lagging in modern...
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...
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...
Why you need to protect your business with IBM Z Cyber Vault
It seems like every week there is a new story of a major company or organization being affected by a cyber-attack. It might be a ransomware attack, stolen user data, or other disruption to services, and may be initiated either by an external attack or internal...
Best Practices for Closing the Mainframe Security Gap
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...
Fix the roof when the sun is shining: Data Loss Prevention
It’s high time we acknowledged that mainframe data loss is far more than a security problem. It’s fundamentally a business problem. As the old saying goes, prevention is better than cure. This applies to data loss and cyber attacks as much as anything else in life. If...
Security Month
Presented by Vertali
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...
Validating your files
Mainframe files/datasets are liable to change quite often. After all, people are using those files so they are likely to be modified/updated. So how could you tell whether there had been a legitimate change to the file or it had been hacked? How can you verify that...
Is your business affected by GDPR?
What GDPR Means for Mainframe Storage, Archive and Backup On April 27, 2016, the European Union passed regulation 2016/679, more popularly known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). On May 25, 2018, GDPR implementation began, and enforcement activities...
Multi-Factor Authentication Has Arrived – The Mainframes Are Ready
Retinal scans. Face recognition. Fingerprint scanners. Spoken phrases. Randomized pins. Those cool full-body laser scanners from the movies. Science fiction has correctly predicted many aspects of how we live in the digital age, including the rise of security...
Q: Meltdown, Spectre (and new variants) – how best to cope?
A: Become a Grandmaster at Whack-a-mole! “…used with reference to a situation in which attempts to solve a problem are piecemeal or superficial, resulting only in temporary or minor improvement…” Much (very much!) has been written regarding the security threats posed...
Mainframes don’t need SIEMs, do they?
Mainframes come with plenty of security – why should they use a Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), when it doesn’t even run on the mainframe? This is pretty much the opening argument from most mainframers when talking about SIEMs, and, at first glance,...
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Upcoming Events
Events
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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.
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Virtual Db2 User Group | Safeguarding Your Data: A Comprehensive Guide to Db2 for z/OS Security Exit Routines
Zoom - Virtual MeetingThis session explores Db2 for z/OS Security Exit Routines and their role in strengthening enterprise data protection and access control strategies. Attendees will gain insight into how security exit routines […]
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Virtual CICS User Group | CICS Security Discovery
Zoom - Virtual MeetingMany CICS environments continue to rely heavily on transaction-level security, often resulting in users retaining access privileges that are no longer appropriate for their current roles. This session will provide […]
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...