Who is the “SRACD – RACF & Enterprise Security Guide” working group?
The “SRACD – RACF & Enterprise Security Guide” working group meets twice a year and deals with mainframe security in the broadest sense. Currently, more than 60 (large) companies from all industries in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland are represented in the group. This working group in the GSE has been in existence for about 30 years. Alina Mot, CEO of Empalis, has been involved in it for many years, including as a Sharewoman. Empalis therefore has a long-standing relationship with the group and the topics it deals with.
Topics covered by SRACD – RACF & Enterprise Security Guide
In line with Empalis' IBM topics, the working group deals with security issues relating to the z/OS Security Server (RACF) and decentralized systems in the context of the heterogeneous environments of (large) companies.
- User and authorization administration (role-based rights assignment, e-provisioning)
- Connection of subsystems (DB2, IMS; CICS, USS, TSO, etc.)
- Interaction with decentralized systems in the sense of end-to-end security
- Auditing, compliance
- Exchange of experiences, networking
(Source: SRACD – RACF & Enterprise Security Guide)
Cyber resilience in mainframe environments: Empalis presentation
The presentation addresses the cyber resilience of mainframe environments.
Historically, the advantage of mainframes was their proprietary nature and the resulting high level of reliability and stability. Today, standard hardware and open technologies are increasingly being used, which makes mainframes more attractive by today's standards, but also more vulnerable. As a result, cybersecurity is becoming more important for mainframe users as well, not least because data from critical infrastructures (KRITIS) is often stored in mainframe systems (IBM).
From a cyber resilience perspective, mainframes and their respective upstream and downstream systems can therefore be attacked using similar logic to that used for open systems. From today's perspective, it now makes more than sense to look at the business logic here too, examine zero trust, and rethink the backup architecture of mainframes.
Speaker
Markus Stumpf is Business Development Manager at Empalis Consulting GmbH and headed the Data Protection Managed Service Team for six years. As an expert in data backup solutions such as IBM Storage Protect, Veeam, Wasabi, Rubrik, Commvault, and Cohesity, with over 20 years of experience in implementation, operation, and training, he is happy to answer all your questions.
Who is GSE
GSE (Guide Share Europe) is a customer association that has developed from the IBM Mainframe Community since 1955, in which Empalis continues to be active. This European user group for IBM hardware and software comprises more than 1,300 companies that use IBM systems and products in the field of information technology. GSE is all about exchange and gaining a certain amount of influence on the development of IBM products. To this end, working groups have been formed for the various IBM tools.
You can find the self-description of the “SRACD – RACF & Enterprise Security Guide” working group and the complete list of German working groups here.
Do you have questions about the GSE, the working group, or mainframes? Feel free to contact me directly.
Alina Mot, Geschäftsführende Gesellschafterin
Phone +49 711 469 282 60
