Bsafe Changes Name to Enforcive, Updates IBM i Security Suite

Published: May 17, 2011

by Alex Woodie

Bsafe Information Systems, a developer of security software for IBM i and z/OS servers, changed its name to Enforcive. The move helps to eliminate any confusion a prospect might have separating the BSAFE line of cryptography products from RSA with the IBM i tools offered by Enforcive. The company also unveiled Enterprise Security 7.1, which adds coverage of the IBM i message queue and system history logs, and enhances compliance management tools.

Enforcive, which today goes by the full legal name Enforcive Information Systems 1983 Ltd., was founded in Israel 28 years ago to develop security tools for IBM mainframes. The company branched out to the AS/400 in 1998, and today it focuses primarily on the IBM i with its Enterprise Security suite, which has 19 modules covering various aspects of security, reporting, and compliance.

The vendor announced the name change from Bsafe to Enforcive in mid April. Enforcive, which is headquartered in Herzliyah, Israel, but maintains U.S. headquarters in New Jersey, explained the name change was made to "more accurately reflect the company's offerings and the widening market it serves." The new name also supports the company's plan to eventually move beyond the realm of security, although it has not yet announced any concrete plans to do so.

While Enforcive officials say the change was made to reflect a new direction forward, there is a strong reason to believe it was due to pressure from RSA, which is one of the biggest and most influential companies in the IT security business. Indeed, there was strong speculation to that extent at the recent COMMON conference by others in the security business. Enforcive isn't the only security software company that has changed its name from Bsafe to avoid confusion--and potentially litigation--with RSA. A company called bsafe online changed its name to bsecure.

Enterprise Security 7.1

Along with the name change, Enforcive unveiled a new version of its comprehensive suite of IBM i security software, Enforcive Enterprise Security (ES) version 7.1.

This release brings new modules for monitoring the IBM i Message Queue (MSGQ) and the System History (QHST) log. The new software uses filters and automation to help administrators isolate important messages, which will help them to interpret the behavior of users, applications, and devices.

Prior to this release, many of Enforcive's customers were relegated to weeding through the MSGQ and QHST files manually, which can be error-prone tasks. Better automation is also delivered through integration of Enforcive's new MSGQ and QHST monitors to the company's Central Audit and Report Generator modules, providing better security event correlation within the IBM i environment.

ES 7.1 also brings enhancements to the Policy Compliance Manager module, which helps IBM i shops adhere to IT security standards mandated by industry regulations such as PCI and HIPAA. This release brings better support for the IFS, authorization lists, and IBM i audit settings. The company has also updated its alerting system, which ensures that managers are kept informed of violations.

Better control of users' ability to initiate IBM i commands is another area of improvement with ES 7.1 This release gives administrators more fine-grained control over which IBM i commands are available to users, whether the commands are issued through a 5250 session or from a TCP/IP environment. Managers can now select how IBM i commands are used according to: user profiles; group profiles; custom ES groups; IP address ranges; or they can use the system default. This feature can be reviewed through the Application Audit and Report Generator component of ES 7.1.

Enforcive has also bolstered its IBM i exit program, which governs how IBM i exit points can be utilized by users. With this release, administrators permit or exclude access to IBM i servers according to the IP address of the requesting device. Entire ranges of IP addresses can also be permitted or denied access.

Enforcive is also shipping new regulatory compliance accelerator packages with ES 7.1 that will help IBM i shops get up to speed with specific industry regulations. This includes the COBIT Accelerator Package, which is based on COBIT 4.1, and the ISO Accelerator Package, which is based on ISO 17799. Enforcive says both packages contain predefined reports, alerts, and Policy Compliance Manager templates that have been mapped to the two IT standards.

Last but not least, ES 7.1 brings support for Syslog. The capability to export logs or event sets in the industry standard Syslog log format will help the security information and event management (SIEM) initiatives of IBM i customers. Enforcive says its Syslog output can be received by several SIEM product vendors, including Nitrosecurity, Netforensics, Splunk, and the open source Syslog-ng log aggregator developed and distributed by Balabit.

"This new release is the result of working closely with several large organizations which have specific compliance requirements regarding data access on IBM i," states Shimon Bouganim, CEO of Enforcive. "It provides our customers new tools to automatically enforce strict adherence to regulatory mandates."

For more information on Enforcive and its products, see the vendor's new website at www.enforcive.com.

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