Building an Automated Security Monitor

No company can survive in the 1990s without the ability to rapidly access information from remote locations. Remote access unfortunately creates new opportunities to penetrate computer systems. It is not unusual for an Internet host owner to find that an unauthorized person has been browsing sensitive files. Hackers can hit hundreds of systems at once, pulling information back to an intermediate location for analysis. Although the hacking of mainframes is less common than that of micro- and minicomputers, it is still an important concern, given that by one estimate, 80% of all critical corporate data is stored on IBM mainframe systems. In response to these threats, a security manager may spend years implementing rigorous policies and controls for routine system auditing and violation reporting. Yet, in an ever-changing environment, how can the security manager be assured that these controls really work to protect critical information? Demand for quick system access and remote use continues to chip away at...