- Mainframes are at the core of our digital economy. In fact, recent research from Key Resources, Inc. (KRI) reported that 86% of IT and security managers agreed that mainframes are essential for scaling workloads, with 75% stating they’re critical for business continuity.
"…by 2030 there will be 40 trillion mobile transactions per day and the mainframe will process 75% of those transactions." —IBM 2019 Annual Report
It’s facts like these that remind me why I’m excited about my new role with SHARE. I come to the position of Director of Cybersecurity on the SHARE Board of Directors with 30+ years of diverse, security experience in the enterprise IT landscape. As President of KRI, I oversee our strategic plan and lead our product vision alongside the executive team, which I approach with a background in mainframe compliance, risk management, governance, and cybersecurity.
When Jim Erdahl came to me with his idea for a new position, I was thrilled at the chance to volunteer to help lend a hand in developing SHARE’s cybersecurity strategy, as well as taking on an initiative to drive the future of year-round education through the Security and Compliance project (part of the Enterprise Data Center Program). A few areas I’ll be focusing on over the next two years include:
- Reviewing and ensuring SHARE (organization) compliance with laws and regulations related to cybersecurity,
- Writing and updating security-focused policies,
- Supporting SHARE’s transition to a new website and the use of communities-based software and,
- Working closely with the Security and Compliance project as it develops year-round education curriculum.
In 2021, the Security and Compliance project is working hard to build an educational engagement strategy for 2021 that makes use of all of SHARE’s offerings: webcasts, SHARE Nibbles, conference education, SHARE’d Intelligence, and the soon-to-be-launched communities initiative. Currently, the project plans to use the communities platform to launch discussion forums and also includes use of communities as a vehicle for a requirements program.
In order to gather input from the SHARE community, a Security Survey was launched in January and, to date, we’ve received 103 responses. Highlights include:
- 74% indicate the mainframe plays a critical role in their overall cloud strategy
- The most important topics to cover are data encryption, multi-factor authentication, and event monitoring/management
- 59% have attended a SHARE security session or webcast in the past
- 92% would like to see more education on security
- 67% want more engagement via online communities/forums
Overall, this feedback will help the project shape the program moving forward. There certainly is an appetite for more.