Innovatum Bolsters Auditing Tool with FTP Monitoring
December 14, 2010 Alex Woodie
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IBM i shops will be able to monitor for potentially damaging FTP sessions involving their DB2/400 databases with an update to Innovatum‘s auditing tool. New FTP exit points have been added to DataThread, Innovatum’s IBM i auditing tool, which is regularly used for regulatory compliance. The company also added new printing functionality to ROBAR, a barcode and RFID labeling product used by companies in the pharmaceutical supply chain. DataThread is a powerful real-time change monitoring solution designed to work with the IBM i audit journal and the DB2/400 database. The software complements native IBM i capabilities by providing filtering and workflow mechanisms that sift through the millions of innocuous journal and database entries, and bring the most potentially dangerous entries to the attention of administrators. In September, Innovatum announced the addition of an FTP exit point to DataThread that will enable the product to detect unauthorized FTP activity occurring on an IBM i server. The new functions allow DataThread to not only monitor and audit FTP activity, but control the FTP sessions, and deny access if the software determines it is unauthorized. Customers can also configure the software to allow or deny FTP access by user profile, by IP address, and by date and time. “With the addition of exit point management and the ability to prevent inappropriate activity, we have moved beyond just auditing,” states Innovatum president Ardi Batmanghelidj in a press release. “Managing FTP exit points in a data centric manner is certainly one of the most requested enhancements we are excited to deliver to System i users.” Before clamping down on FTP access, Innovatum allows DataThread customers to observe FTP activity in a special “discovery” mode. “Having the ability to see consolidated activity allows our clients to make informed adjustments to existing security settings” states Innovatum’s vice president of development, Ron Kohlhorst, in a press release. “Most activity is legitimate business, but being able actually see it and act on any aberrations provides for accurate assurance controls.” The new feature is available now to existing DataThread users, and will be included in DataThread version 4.0, which is expected to ship in the first quarter of 2011. The Sugar Hill, Georgia, company also unveiled new printing capabilities in ROBAR, its Windows-based label printing and audit log reporting system for companies in regulated industries. The new Web-based printing functionality will allow companies to securely generate RFID and barcode labels in multiple locations from a single, centrally managed implementation of ROBAR. Previously, these labels could only be printed by on-site personnel who could access ROBAR and the central ERP or MRP system that generates the data. Batmanghelidj says the new functionality not only enables greater visibility and collaboration among different sites and business units, “but they also provide the flexibility to involve external business partners in regulated labeling operations via the Web.” ROBAR supports 1,900 models of bar code and RFID label printers from 65 different manufacturers, the company says. The software is commonly found in the highly regulated life sciences and pharmaceutical industries. RELATED STORIES Innovatum Adds Biometric Authentication to Improve Compliance ‘Auditability’ Innovatum Tackles FDA Labeling Requirements Coming to Grips with CFR 21 Part 11
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