IBM AS400 Support Services for App Security – Futureproofing AS400 Apps in 2025 & Beyond

Several mid and large-scale organizations continue to use IBM power systems like AS400 as the hosting medium for enterprise applications. IBM AS400 is a legacy integrated platform that offers an exclusive operating system (OS/400), development and runtime interface, and embedded database (DB2). This integrated platform enables businesses to build and host multiple enterprise apps like customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource management (ERP), and accounting solutions from a single environment. However, the decades-old monolithic architecture of AS400 systems contributes to the rise of major security issues/risks that potentially impact the integrity and performance of hosted enterprise applications.

Though the IBM AS400 system’s architecture is highly available, security vulnerabilities might arise and impact enterprise applications due to weak user access controls, inadequate network controls, and misconfigurations. To overcome the security vulnerabilities and strengthen the AS400 application ecosystem, businesses should consider investing in dedicated security maintenance and support services.

Improving AS400 Application Security with Dedicated Support Services

In general, delegating the responsibility of AS400 application security support and maintenance to in-house app administrators is an unwise approach. App administrators in organizations have inadequate expertise on AS400 security risks and troubleshooting practices. This makes it difficult for administrators to effectively identify and resolve a range of security vulnerabilities and protect AS400 applications from cyber threats and operational disruptions. Hence, organizations looking to securely host their enterprise solutions on AS400 in the long term should consider partnering with a reputable iSeries support services provider.

This collaboration enables businesses to hire dedicated support personnel skilled in implementing AS400 application user access configurations, data access controls, auditing mechanisms, and other security policies. Dedicated AS400 support experts with extensive security expertise help organizations protect their enterprise applications against unauthorized breaches and threats. Some of the key benefits of working with skilled AS400 security support experts include:

Proactive Security Monitoring – By incorporating auditing mechanisms within the AS400 enterprise applications, experts proactively monitor and identify potential security threats and anomalies. This enables experts to rapidly implement appropriate patches/fixes and eliminate security anomalies before they become major incidents.

Reduced Data Risks - When enterprise applications are hosted on AS400 systems, the risk of data loss or breaches is higher. This is due to the lack of data security configurations in the AS400 architecture. To eliminate data security risks, AS400 support specialists embed encryption and access controls within the enterprise applications. These security functionalities prevent unauthorized access to application datasets and help businesses maintain greater data compliance.

Minimized External Threats – Malicious actors with privileged access to enterprise applications in the AS400 environment can access application datasets or tamper with the application’s logic and code. This results in a major loss of reputation for organizations. To overcome such threats, AS400 support experts implement robust user access control policies like role-based and mandatory access controls. These policies ensure the least privilege access to application logic and data and eliminate the possibility of malicious events.

Key Security Risks Resolved by Dedicated AS400 Support Specialists

1. Authentication Vulnerabilities

The authentication framework of AS400 systems introduces key challenges in terms of credential exposure and unauthorized remote access. The AS400 system’s authentication framework stores the credentials of application users in the server logs. This enables malicious actors to easily misuse credentials and gain unauthorized access to user records and documents in applications. Similarly, AS400 systems possess unrestricted remote accessibility configurations, enabling unauthorized users to exploit application datasets or compromise user accounts through remote login permissions. To overcome the authentication vulnerabilities, dedicated IBM AS400 support specialists implement secure sockets layer (SSL) and virtual private network (VPN) access control.

AS400 experts configure and embed secure sockets layer in the application’s server logs section. This layer transforms the plain credential texts in server logs into hashed ciphertexts, thereby eliminating the credential exposure. Moreover, by setting up VPN access control within AS400 applications, experts standardize the remote access policies through multi-factor authentication and reduce unauthorized access attempts.

2. Insecure Data Transmission

Applications hosted on AS400 systems rely on networking protocols like file transfer protocols and Telnet for transferring data to external applications or portals. These protocols transmit data or files in plain format without encryption, making it easier for cyber threat actors to capture and steal confidential information and manipulate communications. Moreover, failure to secure data transmission might lead to data non-compliance, resulting in exorbitant penalties and reputational damage. Hence, to avoid such consequences, AS400 support professionals configure and incorporate transport layer security (TLS) protocol.

Support experts program the TLS protocol to encrypt AS400 data and communications during transit and eliminate man-in-the-middle attacks. In addition to TLS incorporation, AS400 experts implement other key data transmission encryption mechanisms, such as secure shell (SSH) and secure FTP (SFTP) to ensure highly encrypted data transfers between AS400 enterprise applications and other systems.

3. Malware Vulnerabilities

AS400-hosted enterprise applications equipped with multiple integrations introduce the risk of malware vulnerabilities. Malicious actors exploit the APIs of AS400 enterprise applications to install malware scripts within the source code page and extract or manipulate sensitive data. Moreover, malware script insertion results in major downtime and disruption of enterprise application workflows. To overcome such consequences, support professionals incorporate an automated code auditing tool within the APIs of AS400 enterprise apps.

AS400 support experts configure the code auditing tool to consistently monitor API requests and eliminate the insertion of malware scripts into the AS400 application’s source code page. In the event of a malware attack, AS400 experts rapidly devise and implement structured incident response plans and contain threats, thereby maintaining the integrity of AS400 application workflow.

Closing Thoughts

On the whole, investing in comprehensive security support and maintenance services is crucial for businesses looking to host their enterprise apps on AS400 systems in the long term. However, to leverage robust practices and eliminate security risks in AS400 applications, organizations should consider associating with a trustworthy IBM iSeries support services provider. This enables businesses to work with dedicated support personnel skilled in addressing authentication vulnerabilities, data security threats, and malware risks. By resolving the key vulnerabilities, experts ensure a robust security posture for mission-critical applications hosted on AS400 systems.