New data security software from IBM
Today, organizations are struggling to manage a variety of complex data security threats, from misuse by insiders or cyber criminals outside the company. Combined with an increase in corporate security compliance policies, clients of all sizes are under pressure to build data security into the fabric of their IT systems.
According to industry estimates, on average, a data breach can cost a company between $100 and $200 per compromised record. Recognizing these challenges, IBM is introducing InfoSphere Guardium 8 which allows organizations to simplify security and compliance regulations with a single set of automated and centralized controls for a broader range of enterprise databases and applications.
In addition to its automated monitoring capabilities, it also helps clients more easily meet compliance mandates by delivering stronger information governance controls to ensure the privacy and integrity of corporate data while simplifying audits. These new capabilities will also help lower compliance costs across all of an organization’s high-value data sources.
New features include:
Fraud protection for SAP systems: From client data to ERP and personnel information, SAP systems often contain sensitive information that must be monitored for compliance and audit purposes. Now, businesses can detect fraud in real-time through the monitoring of all user activities at the application layer, including activities by administrators and outsourced personnel. The new release of InfoSphere Guardium provides more detailed information about SAP users, making it easier for businesses to detect fraudulent activities without making any changes to their databases or applications.
Protection of SharePoint files: SharePoint repositories often contain sensitive information such as corporate financial results and valuable intellectual property such as product design data, but they do not have the necessary controls to prevent misuse by insiders. Now, for the first time, businesses have continuous real-time monitoring controls making it easier to detect unauthorized access to SharePoint repositories.
Support for the mainframe: An often overlooked, yet critical aspect of database security is real-time monitoring and auditing controls for database and system administrators. IBM now offers enhanced database activity monitoring capabilities for IBM DB2 databases running on System z, allowing businesses to protect critical information from unauthorized access by administrators. For example, if a database administrator at an insurance company tries to access a client’s social security number, salary and medical history, the system will immediately generate an alert for security and compliance personnel. The new version of InfoSphere Guardium 8 leverages IBM-developed mainframe technology to capture all database transactions with minimal performance impact.
Improved compliance and audit processes: A critical part of any audit is the ability to demonstrate that compliance and exception reports have been reviewed by oversight teams and appropriate actions taken. With the new software, businesses will have improved flexibility to define custom workflows and share specific audit information with relevant audiences in their organizations. Together with the software’s pre-packaged report templates for common regulations such as SOX, HIPAA and PCI, this capability will help businesses save time and money by significantly reducing time required to gather and report on compliance data required by auditors.
Advanced blocking and quarantining: In the event of unauthorized or suspicious activity, businesses can selectively block individual users from accessing the system for a specified period of time, avoiding the loss of valuable data until the activity can be investigated. For example, if a customer service representative looks up hundreds of credit card numbers within an hour he or she would automatically be locked out of the system. Similarly, if a database administrator at a hospital accessed private data on a high-profile patient, that employee’s access to the database would be immediately blocked, without requiring any manual, time-consuming or error-prone changes to critical databases and applications.
Integration with Tivoli software: Now, critical security and compliance monitoring information about high-value databases and applications, collected by InfoSphere Guardium software, can be combined with information about other systems and network security devices collected by Tivoli Security Information and Event Management software. This integration provides businesses with an enterprise-wide view of key information that enables them to more easily address information governance across the enterprise.