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By Robin Tatam
When I began my career on the AS/400 more years ago than I care to
reveal, life was simple—“dumb terminals” ruled the computing kingdom
and subfile displays were considered cutting edge. Application menus
blocked users from direct database access and security‑conscious
administrators could set up a profile to limit user capabilities to a
few basic commands.
Then, things got complicated. First, everyone flocked to
programmable workstations, better known as PCs. As a result, business
software, including spreadsheet applications, developed rapidly. And,
because core line‑of‑business applications were still running on the
AS/400, file transfers between PCs and servers became common.
Pandora’s Box
IBM responded
to the new market demands for open database access by building TCP
connectivity into the AS/400 (now re-branded as the iSeries). In
addition to the traditional 5250-based “green screen” applications, the
iSeries could now be accessed through File Transfer Protocol (FTP),
Open Database Connectivity (ODBC), Distributed Data Management (DDM),
and other interfaces. No one thought much about the security
ramifications, but it was like opening Pandora’s Box!
Fast forward through a few server name changes to the current day…
Because all of these interfaces connect directly to the server’s
database, the menus that historically restricted green screen users are
no longer effective. The “secure menu” has become a thing of the past;
now, we must rely on…[more]
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