How Google Security Operations Integration Protects Your IBM i and Z Data

Key Takeaways:

• IBM mainframes present unique security challenges that make comprehensive visibility a must-have for modern IT security strategies.
• A siloed approach to security solutions doesn’t work anymore; strategic business-driven security is essential.
• Precisely Ironstream facilitates seamless real-time data integration to Google Security Operations, for faster and more effective threat management.

Cyber threats loom larger and more sophisticated than ever, and businesses across industries can no longer afford to have blind spots when it comes to their mission-critical systems.

Take IBM i and IBM Z mainframes, for example. They’re essential to your operations, but the manual nature of auditing the machine data generated by these systems can present significant vulnerabilities. Integrating these systems into your broader security strategy in an automated way is a must and can help you proactively protect your business.

To achieve success, it’s critical to understand the evolving security landscape, the specific challenges of securing IBM i  and Z mainframes, and the importance of gaining comprehensive visibility into your entire IT ecosystem. In this blog, we’ll explore how and Ironstream delivers what you need for unified security intelligence.

Today’s IT Security Challenges

It’s happened to everyone – they think their systems and data are secure, then a new threat arises that challenges the best practices of your organization. When it comes to security, you can’t afford to remain complacent.

Escalating threats stemming from technological advancements mean that the traditional methods are increasingly inadequate and demand new strategies for enterprise security. The era of siloed security measures tailored to isolated platforms is over, as business-driven security becomes a key element of strategic planning.

Today, you need a holistic view that spans all platforms, creating a cohesive security narrative that anticipates and responds to threats. Factors like cloud integration and the rise of multifactor authentication have redefined security perimeters, emphasizing adaptability and expansiveness in your security strategy.

Tackling the Unique Challenges of IBM Systems

IBM systems have some of the best uptimes in the world, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t vulnerable to attack. Many enterprises manually report on their IBM i and IBM Z systems delivering data to their security monitoring systems on a delay. While your organization may still have access to that critical data – you need to ask yourself, are okay with having a reactive not proactive response to a security threat?.

When you integrate these systems with your security operations, it’s important to be aware of these significant roadblocks. The time disparity, for example, can lead to security gaps when not managed properly. Adding to the gap is that as more and more experts familiar with IBM’s systems retire, the scarcity of skilled professionals exacerbates the risk of vulnerabilities.

Comprehensive Visibility: 5 Key Benefits

Among all these challenges and more, there’s a common solution: comprehensive visibility into your IT environment.

Without a clear view of all IT systems activities – from mainframes to mobile apps – you’re navigating blind. Visibility is the foundation of effective security, empowering your teams to detect, respond to, and mitigate threats quickly.

The benefits of enhanced visibility are vast, and include but are not limited to:

1. Establishing a security baseline: What’s normal for your systems, and what could be a damaging anomaly? Having this understanding helps you better identify problems and prioritize re-mediations.
2. Improved threat detection: In line with the security baseline, enhanced visibility into necessary data points allows accurate and speedy identification of potential threats, reducing breach risks.
3. Faster response times: Swift threat detection means quicker responses, minimizing damages and containing threats effectively.
4. Proactive threat hunting: Security teams can actively search for potential threats across your landscape before they turn into actual breaches, helping your organization staying ahead of cybercriminals.
5. Informed decision-making: With clear visibility, make strategic security decisions that prioritize actions based on potential impact and threat levels that are always on the move.

Implementing Ironstream with Google Security Operations

Google Security Operations is a game-changer for IT security. It empowers your security operations teams with proactive, context-aware threat detection and alerting as well as powerful retroactive correlation of indicators of compromise against a full year of your organization’s security records.

To be fully effective and responsive, your Google Security Operations platform needs a continuous, real-time feed of security events from your IBM Z mainframe or IBM i system. Without it, Google Security Operations can be blind to significant red flags and longer-term patterns of compromise that may be lurking in your core business operations.

Ironstream enables you to collect, transform and deliver the full range of uniquely formatted IBM Z mainframe and IBM system i security records to Google Security Operations in real time, without the need for specialized IBM Z mainframe or IBM i coding expertise.

Boost Security for Your Most Critical Systems

Are siloed systems leaving your organization vulnerable? When it comes to protecting your mission-critical systems, there’s no time to waste.

To start your journey to faster threat detection, investigation, and response times, read the eBook The Role of Mainframe Data in the Enterprise SIEM.  In this eBook, you’ll learn what SIEM is, why enterprise SIEM is relevant to you, and how your mainframe data completes the picture.