Robin Tatam, the Director of Security Technologies for PowerTech, a Help/Systems company, will release the results from a decade of research on the security of IBM Power Systems servers at the platform's largest user conference on April 10 at 5pm.

The results of the 2013 State of IBM i Security Study, authored by Tatam, continue what he calls a "frightening degree of vulnerability" among the servers typically housing a corporation's most sensitive data.

"There is still plenty of work to do," Tatam said. "Our security landscape is wide open to both hackers and internal breaches. That includes, unfortunately, many of us at COMMON," the user group sponsoring the forum.

Citing the exposure of 3.8 million Social Security Numbers in one breach last year, Tatam added, "the question is not whether we'll have another South Carolina incident, but when it will happen."

Last year's study found similar reason for concern, with an alarming 56% of users having either unrestricted or nearly-full access to their most sensitive corporate data.

"IBM i and AIX are two of the most highly securable operating systems, which can leave many IBM i system managers complacent," Tatam said, “But hackers are finding ways to circumvent even the most powerful platforms. This, should be a warning to anyone whose security policy is hoping that nothing will happen."

Tatam is frequently cited for his expertise in Power Systems security and compliance. In addition to authoring the study, Tatam is a COMMON-certified subject matter expert in security, and co-author of the IBM Redbook manual on IBM i Data Encryption.

In addition to his sneak peek of the security study (to be released this spring), Tatam will also speak on how to configure features for auditing and user profiles, as well as how to replicate best practices in IT security.

The COMMON exposition, held at the Austin, TX Convention Center from April 6th-10th, will focus on technologies and strategies to reduce cost and improve productivity in information technology for IBM Power Servers running the IBM i, AIX, and Linux operating systems.

PowerTech is your security expert in managing evolving compliance and data privacy threats with automated security solutions for IBM Midrange Servers. Our ServerProven security solutions are straightforward and save your valuable IT resources, giving you ongoing protection and peace of mind.   Because IBM Power System (iSeries and AS/400) servers are used to host particularly sensitive corporate data, it is imperative that you practice proactive compliance security. As an IBM Advanced Business Partner with over 1,000 customers worldwide, PowerTech understands corporate vulnerability and the risks associated with data privacy and access control.   Eden Prairie, Minnesota-based PowerTech Group was founded by security experts in 1996. In 2004, PowerTech was awarded the prestigious Industry Driver APEX Award from iSeries NEWS. That same year, PowerTech also won the APEX award as the Editor’s Choice in the Security category. PowerTech is also the only iSeries security company to have been recognized as a finalist in the IBM Beacon awards.

The PowerTech security solutions provide definitive security coverage for iSeries and AS/400 systems.