New Vanguard Configuration Manager Significantly Reduces Time and Reporting Costs Automating Mainframe DISA STIG Compliance

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 3, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Vanguard Integrity Professionals, the largest independent provider of enterprise security software for mainframes, today announced the general availability of Vanguard Configuration Manager. The new software significantly reduces the cost and time required to test mainframe systems to assess their accordance with the Defense Information Systems Agency Security Technical Implementation Guides (DISA STIGs).

Under the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) guidance, U.S. government agencies and contractors with mainframe systems should check that their systems comply with the security configuration controls in the DISA STIG configuration controls. Vanguard Configuration Manager is the only fully automated baseline configuration scanner for mainframe DISA STIGs today.

"Vanguard has automated the entire DISA STIG compliance reporting process and built intelligence about the DISA STIG checks right into the product," said Keegan O'Neill, Director of Research and Development at Vanguard. "Beta testers of Vanguard Configuration Manager estimate that it will save them thousands of hours and hundreds of thousands of dollars each year, which frees them up to focus on remediating problems and improving our mainframe security overall."

More than 100 federal agencies rely on mainframes in their major data centers. Some are directly managed by the agencies and others are managed by outsourced service providers.  Agencies that utilize mainframes have the vast majority of their critical data and applications hosted on the mainframe platform.  Properly securing mainframes using the configuration controls in the DISA STIGs is critical to the Cybersecurity of the United States.  The mainframe platform is often a core component of both public and private cloud computing, and these systems need to be highly secured.

Configuring a mainframe to comply with the configuration controls in the DISA STIGs can be complex, and testing that the mainframe is properly configured can be very time-consuming and sometimes difficult to do.  Individual configuration checks may require that hundreds of thousands of control points be tested to determine compliance. The processes can be so labor-intensive that some organizations have reported how difficult it is to complete testing for compliance with the DISA STIG in the manner required.

Vanguard Configuration Manager was built by z/OS and RACF experts in the United States in order to make the process of testing for compliance with the DISA STIGs easier, more automated and more accurate.  In just a matter of hours instead of days or weeks, Vanguard Configuration Manager will test security configuration controls and verify that a mainframe system is in accordance with the DISA STIG. Vanguard Configuration Manager enables organizations to easily move to continuous monitoring from periodic compliance reporting.  

For more information about Vanguard Configuration Manager, FISMA requirements, NIST standards and guidance, and the DISA STIG, visit www.go2vanguard.com.

About Vanguard Integrity Professionals

Vanguard Integrity Professionals provides enterprise security software and services that solve complex security and regulatory compliance challenges for government agencies and corporations around the world. With solutions for Audit and Compliance, Security Management, Intrusion Detection and Identity and Access Management, Vanguard automates processes necessary to identify and mitigate the risks customers face. Vanguard's customers receive a rapid return on investment and are able to focus on other critical business needs thereby becoming more productive and secure. For more information, visit www.go2vanguard.com.

SOURCE Vanguard Integrity Professionals