As the Y2K concern reaches its crescendo, it is becoming evident by much analysis and industry leaders that security will become the foremost IT concern as companies and governments look for the right technology foundation beyond the millennium.
TCM, in partnership with the international data security and forensic practice NGA, has announced the availability of a new range of AS/400 and NT security, auditing and intrusion detection solutions.
Studies show companies will spend five to six times more money on security over the next 5 years than that spend on Y2K. Jorge de Campos, marketing executive for TCM, the largest AS/400 supplier in the country, says security concerns are magnified because so much is at stake, one only has to look at the recent, and much publicised, security violations that have occurred in government and corporate installations.
The importance of appropriate security controls and security administration cannot be underestimated for any government and corporate agency. Statistics show that over 90% of all serious security violations are internally generated exposing companies to potentially fraudulent activities. Hackers are only a fraction of the danger.
"With the advent of e-commerce and e-business solutions, administrators will find it increasingly difficult to ensure that all `back doors` and access keys and/or passwords are monitored and adequately controlled," he notes.
AS/400 is well renown for its security capabilities, but if proper security control and discipline is not exercised even the most secure system will be rendered ineffective.
"Furthermore, as most of fraudulent activities are internal in a company, it is vital to have a 24 hour by 7 days a week audit, monitoring and alert system available to users and their information protection managers," he adds.
"The Pentasfe software works inside the system, beyond a firewall and continuously monitors the systems security features, programmers access, critical files and files for unauthorised tampering," explains de Campos.
It is critical to use a combination of software to automate the process and forensic consultants to advise customers on an ongoing basis of their unique potential exposures.
This functionality may be implemented in conjunction with TCMECS, our centralised remote monitoring and support system, to offer a countrywide infrastructure and auditing service support.
In addition, the Pentasafe web site (http://www.pentasafe.com) provides a simple and downloadable 10-point security check list that an AS/400 customer may use to self test his AS/400 installation for potentially fraudulent holes in his installation.
"TCM is also offering this service for NT customers, as the security exposure in NT is far greater," de Campos concludes.
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