Mainframes hold an organization’s most critical and sensitive business data, making it crucial to ensure that data is secure and meets the strictest privacy regulations.
Controlling access through network micro-segmentation is an effective way to protect sensitive data on mainframes by isolating applications or devices. Such isolation is required in heavily regulated industries with compliance standards such as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Because Micro-segmentation can isolate each application into its own network segment, it is an important step toward achieving Zero Trust security. That isolation gives organizations the ability to limit application access to specific network segments or specific devices, providing an additional layer of security beyond user authentication.
The PCI Security Standards Council says that any assets that store, process, or transmit payment card data are “in scope”—meaning they must be assessed for PCI compliance. Thus, the entire network is in scope without proper segmentation.. Network segmentation that isolates the card handling applications reduces the PCI review to that specific area rather than an entire network, which can span hundreds of thousands of devices. Reducing the scope of the PCI DSS assessment also reduces the cost and difficulty of implementing PCI DSS controls and mitigates risk to an organization by consolidating cardholder data into fewer locations with greater control.
In our latest research brief, Micro-segmentation Keeps Sensitive Mainframe Data in Compliance, done in partnership with Vertali, we analyze how micro-segmentation makes a network easier to secure and manage by isolating segments.
In this brief you’ll learn:
- Why micro-segmentation is so important
- Challenges of micro-segmentation
- How mainframe segmentation tools can be difficult to configure and manage at large scale
- How Vertali zTrust for Networks manages micro-segmentation using IBM z/OS tools
Vertali zTrust is a helpful third-party tool that adds management, implementation, and monitoring controls to isolate mainframe systems with different security needs. This approach reduces the number of systems in PCI DSS compliance scope and empowers the Cyber/Security teams to implement segmentation. It also can save organizations time and money from performing these tasks manually. If you are interested in learning more, download your copy of Micro-segmentation Keeps Sensitive Mainframe Data in Compliance, today.
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Author Information
Regarded as a luminary at the intersection of technology and business transformation, Steven Dickens is the Vice President and Practice Leader for Hybrid Cloud, Infrastructure, and Operations at The Futurum Group. With a distinguished track record as a Forbes contributor and a ranking among the Top 10 Analysts by ARInsights, Steven's unique vantage point enables him to chart the nexus between emergent technologies and disruptive innovation, offering unparalleled insights for global enterprises.
Steven's expertise spans a broad spectrum of technologies that drive modern enterprises. Notable among these are open source, hybrid cloud, mission-critical infrastructure, cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and FinTech innovation. His work is foundational in aligning the strategic imperatives of C-suite executives with the practical needs of end users and technology practitioners, serving as a catalyst for optimizing the return on technology investments.
Over the years, Steven has been an integral part of industry behemoths including Broadcom, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), and IBM. His exceptional ability to pioneer multi-hundred-million-dollar products and to lead global sales teams with revenues in the same echelon has consistently demonstrated his capability for high-impact leadership.
Steven serves as a thought leader in various technology consortiums. He was a founding board member and former Chairperson of the Open Mainframe Project, under the aegis of the Linux Foundation. His role as a Board Advisor continues to shape the advocacy for open source implementations of mainframe technologies.
Dave’s focus within The Futurum Group is concentrated in the rapidly evolving integrated infrastructure and cloud storage markets. Before joining the Evaluator Group, Dave spent 25 years as a technology journalist and covered enterprise storage for more than 15 years. He most recently worked for 13 years at TechTarget as Editorial Director and Executive News Editor for storage, data protection and converged infrastructure. In 2020, Dave won an American Society of Business Professional Editors (ASBPE) national award for column writing.
His previous jobs covering technology include news editor at Byte and Switch, managing editor of EdTech Magazine, and features and new products editor at Windows Magazine. Before turning to technology, he was an editor and sports reporter for United Press International in New York for 12 years. A New Jersey native, Dave currently lives in northern Virginia.
Dave holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Journalism from William Patterson University.
