How do you handle security and authorization issues when accessing relational databases from IMS and CICS?

1 IMS and CICS overview

IMS and CICS are two of the most widely used transaction processing systems on the mainframe. They provide a reliable and scalable environment for running business-critical applications that handle high volumes of transactions. IMS and CICS can also access relational databases, such as DB2, Oracle, or SQL Server, using various methods, such as SQL calls, stored procedures, or connectors. This allows you to integrate your mainframe data with other systems and applications, and to leverage the features and benefits of relational databases.

2 Security and authorization challenges

Accessing relational databases from IMS and CICS poses some security and authorization challenges that you need to consider. For example, how do you authenticate and authorize users and applications that access relational databases from IMS and CICS? How do you protect the data and transactions from unauthorized or malicious access, modification, or deletion? How do you ensure compliance with regulatory and organizational policies and standards? How do you audit and monitor the access and activity on relational databases from IMS and CICS?

3 Authentication and authorization methods

Authentication and authorization are two key aspects of securing and controlling access to relational databases from IMS and CICS. Authentication is the process of verifying the identity of a user or application requesting access, while authorization is the process of granting or denying access to specific data or functions based on the user’s identity and privileges. There are several methods for implementing authentication and authorization, such as using the security features of the relational database system, mainframe system, or a third-party security product. For example, you may need to define and maintain security settings on the relational database system and map IMS or CICS user IDs; use RACF, ACF2, or Top Secret; or install and configure a security product on the mainframe system.

4 Security best practices

In order to ensure your security when accessing relational databases from IMS and CICS, you should choose the appropriate authentication and authorization method, as well as follow some security best practices. These best practices include using secure communication protocols such as SSL or TLS to encrypt data and transactions between IMS or CICS and the relational database system. Additionally, stored procedures, views, or triggers should be used to limit access to the database tables and columns, while bind parameters, prepared statements, or dynamic SQL can prevent SQL injection attacks and improve performance. Finally, audit trails, logs, or reports should be used to track access and activity on relational databases from IMS and CICS, so that any anomalies or incidents can be detected and reported.

5 Resources and references

If you want to gain more knowledge on accessing relational databases from IMS and CICS, as well as handling security and authorization issues, you can look into various resources such as IBM Knowledge Center on 'Accessing Relational Databases from IMS' and 'Accessing Relational Databases from CICS', IBM Redbooks on 'Integrating DB2 Universal Database for iSeries with Microsoft ADO .NET' and 'DB2 9 for z/OS: Using the Utilities Suite', and CA Technologies on 'CA Datacom/DB Security' and 'CA Top Secret for DB2'.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?