Posted by Rick Fowler, TCC Director of Mainframe Services
Everyone in the information technology world is concerned about data security. We hear news stories about data breaches involving millions of records which can lead to identity theft. This is every IT manager’s worst nightmare.
I read an article on the IBM Destination Z website that discussed “data lineage” and why understanding it matters now more than ever in the mainframe world. http://destinationz.org/Community/Evangelizing-Mainframe/May/Data-Lineage-Matters-More-Than-Ever
The author describes data lineage as the lifecycle of data, or how people access data. We know that technically data is stored on disk drives and tape cartridges, but we are increasingly sharing data, and the movement of that data creates risk. The article points out that the distance the data moves away from the storage unit increases the risk of exposure and hacking.
The article recommends performing a data visualization exercise to discover all data sources, application flow and interconnections. This includes mapping all business processes, which can also be valuable when migrating data and terminating end of life systems. When you can clearly see where the sensitive data moves and rests, it makes security and compliance much easier.
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