ARMONK, NY - 09 Jun 2005: IBM today announced that its premier midrange mainframe, the IBM eServer z890 now joins three other IBM mainframes as the world's only servers with the highest level of hardware security certification, Common Criteria Evaluation Assurance Level 5 (EAL5).
The IBM z890 has received EAL5 certification, indicating that its logical partitioning has been methodically tested and checked by an independent evaluator to handle attacks and aid in the prevention of covert channels, specifically for high-risk environments. (1)
The EAL5 ranking should give companies confidence that they can run many z/OS, z/VM, and Linux-based applications containing confidential data -- such as payroll, human resources, e-commerce, ERP and CRM systems -- on one z890 system divided into partitions that keep each application's data secure and distinct from the others. That is, the z890 system architecture is designed to prevent the flow of information among logical partitions on a single system.
"The thousands of financial services and healthcare customers who currently trust their critical business transactions to the IBM mainframe will benefit most from the privacy certification afforded to z890, as well as government agencies who deal with national security issues," said Jim Porell, IBM eServer zSeries Distinguished Engineer. "IT departments can feel confident in eliminating the redundancies and costs associated with separate and distinct server instances by re-hosting or consolidating that work as logical partitions within the zSeries processor."
The IBM z890, along with the z800, z900 and z990, continue zSeries' leadership as the only servers in the world to achieve the prestigious EAL5 assurance level for partitioning.
Highest Level of Commercial Cryptographic Security
Also today, IBM announces that its IBM PCIX Cryptographic Coprocessor Security Module earned the highest certification for commercial security awarded by the U.S. and Canadian governments -- Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 140-2 Level 4. (2) This certification means that the PCIX Cryptographic Coprocessor Security Module satisfies the requirements for a cryptographic module utilized within a security system protecting Sensitive Information (United States) or Protected Information (Canada) within computer and telecommunications systems.
To achieve FIPS 140-2 Level 4 certification, an independent laboratory is permitted to attempt virtually any physical attack on the product and must verify the security of the internal software using a mechanical verification of a mathematical model. The PCIX Cryptographic Coprocessor Security Module is used in the PCIXCC feature on both the IBM eServer z990 and z890.
Contact(s) information
Colleen Haikes
IBM Media Relations
(415) 545-4003
chaikes@us.ibm.com
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