IBM has released a new mainframe offering in a bid to boost security and data encryption and lead the fight against enterprise data breaches.
The next-gen IBM Z mainframe computer is capable of encrypting the entirety of a company’s data. IBM argues that this development will alleviate the pressure for customers selecting and managing their own encryption practices.
Instead, IBM Z encrypts data linked to any app, cloud service or database, at all times, in a streamlined process which does not require any changes to software.
The system is powered by what IBM is calling the industry’s fastest microprocessor. The system runs at 5.2GHz and is scalable with a 35% capacity increase over the previous z13 model.
According to the firm, IBM Z provides a fourfold increase in silicon dedicated to cryptographic algorithms. Thanks to a complete software revamp, it is also capable of running over 12 billion encrypted transactions every day.
IBM added that the processor is 18 times faster compared to the current x86 systems which only work on segments of data at one time. The system is also just 5% of the cost of comparable x86-based solutions.
Highlighting the increasing fear around data breaches and cybercrime, IBM forecasted that the criminal trend would cost the global economy an estimated $8 trillion by 2022 (approx. $6 trillion).
The company further found that over the course of 2016, more than four billion data records were stolen or lost – over a fivefold increase compared to 2015. Of these breached records, IBM added that only 4% were encrypted.
The firm believes that the new advancement will help businesses better manage their data and comply more easily with the upcoming GDPR regulations.
The company noted that IBM Z would be introduced to IBM Cloud as an encryption tool to run IBM Blockchain services in data centres around the globe, including in Dallas, London, Frankfurt, Sao Paolo, Tokyo and Toronto.
‘The powerful combination of IBM Z encryption and secure containers differentiates IBM Blockchain services on the cloud by supporting the trust models new blockchain networks require,’ commented Marie Wieck, general manager of IBM Blockchain. ‘Enterprise clients also benefit from the ease of use making management transparent to the application and the user.’
