Throwing a protective shield around American mainframes

The modern era is proving to be a Golden Age for cyber criminals. As I write this, the UK government has tabled a new cyber security and resilience bill in Parliament, as the nation faces annual costs of GBP 15 billion from online crime. And in just the last couple of days, the Financial Times reported that plans to ban operators of critical national infrastructure from paying ransoms to hackers are unlikely to stop cyberattacks and could actually result in essential services collapsing.

In the US, meanwhile, the most recent FBI annual Internet Crime Report described losses in 2024 exceeding USD 16 billion, a 33% increase from 2023. The US now has the highest average cost of a data breach (rising to USD 10.22 million) according to IBM's 2025 report, with ASEAN nations also seeing a sharp increase. However, the global average cost of a data breach has seen a 9% decrease to USD 4.4m – "driven by faster identification and containment," IBM says.

What a world we live in. It was into this hothouse environment that the Mainframe Shield community was launched at the start of 2025, a not-for-profit initiative created by and for mainframe security professionals. Championed by Vertali in its role as a global independent provider of mainframe infrastructure services, Mainframe Shield was intended from the outset to be a vendor-neutral independent group, set up to share ideas and foster new thinking.

A 'Brains Trust' for mainframe security (and you're invited)

Many years ago, there was a popular BBC radio and television series, which also had a US version, called The Brains Trust. This brought together a panel of experts who answered difficult questions posed by the audience. Mainframe Shield is a little like that - except it deals with up-to-the-minute technology, the latest threat landscape, and new frontiers in cyber security. 

I suppose you can think of it as an informal "think tank" – a loose grouping of likeminded security people who don't believe in talking for its own sake, who want to work together towards new approaches and concrete solutions to complex issues.

The premise was simple: together we are stronger. After talking with colleagues, clients and partners, we believed there was a space in the industry for a new forum to connect security colleagues worldwide. A place where professionals could learn from each other in a supportive non-commercial environment. Mainframe Shield's strength lies in the diversity of its members' collective experiences. I honestly believe we can achieve far more by working together in such a collaborative spirit. It's good to talk.

And this is proving to be the case. Mainframe Shield members are now sharing their real-world experiences and lessons learned, discussing cyber security best practices, reflecting on the challenges faced and potential solutions, all under Chatham House Rules. That means participants are allowed to share the information gained from a Mainframe Shield meeting without revealing who said it, or their affiliation. Such an approach encourages open and honest discussions without fear of attribution.

It's important to reiterate that there is no selling or promotion of services or software; this is about genuine knowledge sharing, networking, and collaboration between likeminded mainframe security professionals.

A growing community

Mainframe Shield is continuing to expand its reach, most notably by launching into the USA. The community already has more than 50 members, working in banking and finance, retail, insurance, and other sectors. In practical terms, members can subscribe to a monthly newsletter: a short round-up of some recent cyberattack news stories, relevant blogs and podcasts, events news – that kind of thing. 

The most important element, however, are the community's quarterly virtual meetings, with two sessions on the same day each quarter timed to work across multiple time zones. Topics discussed range from cyber resilience, data breaches, and the benefits/risks offered by AI, to specifics like network segmentation, immutable mainframe backups on S3, and Cyber Risk Quantification (CRQ). 

If Mainframe Shield sounds like something that you and your organization might benefit from - being part of a global conversation on mainframe security – then register here or drop a note to mainframeshield@vertali.com. As the legendary military strategist, philosopher and writer Sun Tzu put it, "A wise warrior knows that a shield is both a weapon and a defense."