With Compliance Monitor 2.0, PowerTech has added a variety of new features designed to help organizations improve the efficiency of their security compliance reporting on the System i, which, according to industry experts, is used by over 90 percent of the Fortune 1000 companies.
In PowerTech's annual 2007 State of System i Security study, the company has found that the System i is typically left unsecured by a majority of organizations, simply because of improper configuration and the lack of tools. Furthering the problem is that the company has found that many auditors and IT administrators are unaware of the vulnerabilities, resulting in critical data exposures in spite of a successful IT audit, the company said.
Streamlined Tool to Identify Security Issues
"Many of the security controls currently put in place on the System i were designed to protect against earlier threats, while the computing and networking demands of today's enterprise require more open connectivity and targeted sharing of data within an organization and among key outside business partners," said John Earl, vice president and chief technology officer of PowerTech. "The result is that many OS/400 shops have yet to embrace the new security technologies that are available in the architecture, and so they leave their critical data exposed. Compliance Monitor 2.0 helps organizations begin to close this gap by providing a streamlined tool for identifying and reporting security issues relating to the System i vis a vis regulatory and industry compliance rules," he added.Key new features in Compliance Monitor 2.0 include:
- New Log Aggregation--Compliance Monitor customers are now able to keep large amounts of log data online because of PowerTech's innovative log aggregation architecture that compresses log data up to 95 percent.
- New Log Consolidation--Compliance Monitor gathers log data from multiple systems and consolidates the data into a single, easy-to-use graphical interface.
- Log Interpretation--OS/400 audit journals are cryptic and hard to understand. Compliance Monitor translates technical log data into easy-to-understand messages that can be mapped to the COBIT, ISO17799, and PCI regulatory frameworks.
- Integration with other PowerTech products--The same customizable, flexible interface can now also be used to report on events from PowerTech Network Security and Authority Broker, providing one-stop shopping for all your auditing and compliance needs.
- Streamlined report reviews--Organizations can save on the time spent reviewing massive log reports by configuring them to only show exceptions to their policy.
- Customizable Policy templates--Security starts with a Policy. Compliance Monitor provides policy templates that can be customized to meet the needs of your specific environment and regulation.
Ron Campbell, vice president Technology and Information Services manager at Whidbey Island Bank in Oak Harbor, Washington, has been using a pre-release of version 2.0 for the past three months. "My auditors have specific demands for the compliance data that they want to see from the System i. Compliance Monitor 2.0 allows us to generate and review the reports that I need from one central location. The product has saved us days. I especially liked the way I can customize the policy and scorecards to meet the specific needs of the banking regulations that we need to comply with."
IT auditors are gaining awareness about the critical business applications run on the System i, and understand its importance in the enterprise. Securing this platform and reporting upon its compliance to regulations is something organizations can no longer afford to ignore, the company says. PowerTech offers a 30-day trial of Compliance Monitor 2.0 on its Website http://www.powertech.com/CM20.asp.
About The PowerTech Group, Inc.
PowerTech is a security expert in managing evolving compliance and data privacy threats with automated security solutions for IBM midrange servers. The company's ServerProven security solutions are straightforward and save valuable IT resources, giving ongoing protection and peace of mind.
Because System i and AS/400 servers are used to host particularly sensitive corporate data, it is imperative that users practice proactive compliance security. As an IBM Advanced Business Partner with more than 800 customers worldwide, PowerTech understands corporate vulnerability and the risks associated with data privacy and access control.
Business users want new applications now. Market and regulatory pressures require faster application updates and delivery into production. Your IBM i developers may be approaching retirement, and you see no sure way to fill their positions with experienced developers. In addition, you may be caught between maintaining your existing applications and the uncertainty of moving to something new.
IT managers hoping to find new IBM i talent are discovering that the pool of experienced RPG programmers and operators or administrators with intimate knowledge of the operating system and the applications that run on it is small. This begs the question: How will you manage the platform that supports such a big part of your business? This guide offers strategies and software suggestions to help you plan IT staffing and resources and smooth the transition after your AS/400 talent retires. Read on to learn:
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