In our company, Lu Ann handles all of the arrangements.  She books the plane tickets, reserves the rooms, secures the exhibition space, orders the exhibitor badges, organizes and ships the collateral, and coordinates a thousand other details to ensure everything goes smoothly for the team when they arrive.

The sales team does all of the manual labor, including packing and repacking the booth displays and equipment, helping load and unload the heavy boxes onto the shipping company’s truck, and of course setting up and tearing down the booth.  Again, so many details to manage to make sure everything is perfect for the opening of the show.

Months in advance, our marketing team is planning giveaways and prizes, updating collateral, and trying to add new ways to catch visitors’ attention.

Throughout the show, we’re working hard to connect, meeting new trade show participants and vendors, and reconnecting with long-time customers and partners.  We’re striking up conversations with people who pass our booth, and we’re walking the floor saying hi to old friends and introducing ourselves to new ones.  It’s an energizing, exhausting, rewarding process.

And of all of the trade shows that we attend and/or where we exhibit, COMMON holds a special place for us.  The COMMON community is tightly knit and loyal, and every show is like a family reunion.    New deals are forged, partnerships are discovered, and all the while relationships are built and nurtured.  When we reconnect with customers or friends, it’s as if we’re just picking up the conversation right where we left off from last year’s COMMON conference.

As I approach my one-year anniversary as marketing manager at Linoma Software, I’m fortunate to have been invited to attended my first COMMON conference. When our president Bob Luebbe toured me around from booth to booth introducing me to people, I quickly realized the level of connection Linoma has with the IBM i community.

It was wonderful to finally meet in person all of the folks I’d been working with all year:  Jennifer and Megan from iPro Developer; Chris, Kara, David and Jeff from MC Press; Tami and Darryl from IBM Systems Magazine; Dan,Timothy, Kim and Jenny with IT Jungle; and Dan Cheney, our most prolific blogger on this and the GoAnywhere Managed File Transfer blog whom I finally got to hug.  It was especially amazing to spend quality time with my friend and mentor Bill Rice, with Humanized Communication.

Today, as we’re breaking down the booth, saying goodbye to friends, and anticipating the long flights home, it’s clear that the IBM i community is thriving.  We are proud to be a part of it all, and are already planning for next spring’s COMMON conference.

If hackers attempt to access sensitive information like credit card numbers from a server, they’ll instead encounter the token which prevents them from finding the original data without a specific encryption key or knowledge of the tokenization system.

For example, say a merchant acquires a credit card number by swiping a customer’s card with a card reader.  If the merchant has implemented tokenization, this card number information is immediately replaced in the merchant’s database by a token number while the actual card number is sent and stored (in encrypted form) at a different location, along with the reference from the token.

Because the actual card number is never stored in the merchant’s front-end system, hackers have a much more difficult time stealing it. Customers can therefore be assured that it is safe to let that merchant use their card information because the actual credit card numbers are not stored in an easily accessible location.

All organizations that capture credit card data are required by the PCI DSS government regulations to secure and protect this data.  Originally, this presented a challenge to the payment industry until Shift4 Corporation presented tokenization solutions at an industry Security Summit in 1995.  The adoption of tokenization became a popular solution to meet the PCI DSS compliance regulations.

>>Check out these white papers discussing PCI DSS compliance issues, and data breach threats

Other industries are beginning to adopt tokenization to protect confidential information such as banking transactions, medical records, criminal records, vehicle driver information, loan applications, stock trading and voter registration.

Finding the most efficient way to implement tokenization is challenging, but the growing threat of cyber attack and the expense of data breach have motivated IT shops to research options in earnest.

A variety of third-party software solutions, such as Linoma Software’s Crypto Complete, deliver tokenization tools as well as additional options for managing encryption keys, audit logs, message alerts; storing tokenized data; automatically assigning token identifiers; and providing a central management platform for the entire tokenization process.

When a greedy hacker in anticipation of scoring a cache of customer credit card data finds instead a series of tokens, companies win another battle in the war against cyber thieves.

Another huge hassle is verifying that every file actually reached its intended recipient intact, which often requires checking multiple times and then tracking down what went wrong.

Finally, don’t forget the pressure to meet compliance regulations such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, SOX, and state privacy laws.  With the Global Systems data breach still fresh in the news, it’s obvious that no AIX administrator wants to have to explain how sensitive data was compromised.

Fortunately, there are tools and processes available that can minimize the time and effort involved with file transfers while increasing efficiency and data security.

We invite you to sit in on this AIX-only webinar on Thursday, April 12, at noon CDT to learn about how a managed file transfer solution can cure the headaches of manual file transfers while preventing future headaches related to the possibility of compromised data.

We hope you’ll join us!

REGISTER FOR THE AIX WEBINAR HERE

For years, Linoma Software has been encrypting and protecting sensitive and personally identifiable information in computing environments covering non-profit, enterprise and government institutions. Participating in the annual RSA Conference provides the opportunity for thousands of companies to come and see the new secure communication features in the GoAnywhere Suite of products.

New features like Cyber Attack Monitors, Secure Mail that hosts and securely delivers ad-hoc files to recipients and Wizards that build complex conditions for ETL data handling and transformation have been generating a lot of buzz.

If you’re at the RSA conference, stop by Booth #239 and say hi to the Linoma Software team.  You can also hear a five-minute intro as to why compliance fears and data breaches are not part of the GoAnywhere lexicon. If you’re not at the RSA Conference, be sure to visit the GoAnywhere Managed File Transfer page for more details.

Bob recently presented at several East Coast Users Groups, including here at the Long Island System Users Group.

Many factors contributed to our banner performance.  For one, meeting compliance requirements for data privacy and security is a huge issue for most organizations, so we have been working hard to help meet these challenges.

We have made significant R&D investments over the past 12 months in our products, including major enhancements to our GoAnywhere™ managed file transfer solutions, as well as new features for our Crypto Complete™ encryption product.

We also gained many new customers outside of the United States as we have partnered with several new international resellers for our products, and seen increased sales performance from our established distributors.  Data security is a worldwide challenge that has no borders.

Another factor in our growth has to do with the openness of our GoAnywhere products, which allows them to run on a variety of platforms including IBM i, Windows, Linux, Solaris and AIX.  This gives our customers a choice on the operating system environment that best meets their needs.

For a more detailed announcement about Linoma Software’s sales growth in 2011, you can read our press release.

We’ve enjoyed talking with many of you over the last year.  If you are coming to any of the trade shows that we’ll be exhibiting at this year, please stop by and say hello.  Otherwise, give us a call or email if you have any questions or comments about our solutions.

We sincerely appreciate the support of our loyal customers and look forward to working with you this year. If you’re not yet a customer, we hope to talk with you soon about how we can help you solve any data automation or security challenges in 2012.

We’re ramping up our activity on various social networks, so we also hope you’ll connect with us there.

Linoma wishes you a successful 2012!

As a technology administrator at a major healthcare administration company, sending and receiving sensitive files between various systems used to be a daily grind and a consistent source of stress. We were using PC-based freeware FTP tools and the built in FTP functions on the IBM iSeries. The best we could do with scripting was to use CL command scripts to call the FTP function and hard code the login information. RPG programs would then call the CL scripts and retrieve and send the needed files, but there were insufficient logs and alerts for such automated activities.

The biggest headache for me was that these scripts, and the resultant sending of files, had to be error-free and reliable! Add to that the pressure of knowing how critical exchanging files is to the operation of the business and the challenge of  having a single person responsible for its success — it all became an unrealistic expectation.  On top of this, because most of these files are sent over the Internet, and because of the inadequate tools we had at hand, the security of our FTP processes was insufficient.

I knew it was time to find a better solution and after doing some evaluation of available managed file transfer products for IBM iSeries, I selected GoAnywhere™ Director from Linoma Software.

Our installation of GoAnywhere Director made a huge difference almost immediately.

First, Director provides me with all the possible security protocols available, including SFTP, FTPS, and standard FTP with PGP encryption.  It also has powerful scripting functions to login to HTTP and HTTPS sessions in order to automate logins to partner sites for file transfers.

Director makes it possible to automate all of the company’s file transfers with a schedule and log so we know the path and time of every transaction.  Alerts are automatically sent to us if there are any problems, or if we wish, every time it succeeds.  Responsibility can be distributed to various departments as needed to receive these alerts and/or to begin the execution of the transfers when ready.

The simple-to-navigate web interface makes it easy for any user to view, verify, change and execute these file transfers.  The scripting is easy for the average user to setup. If there are any challenges that we come up against with our file transfer processes, Linoma support has always been extremely effective at showing me how to do a successful execution.

I know how frustrating it can be to initiate, monitor, and track the ever increasing number of file transfers my company requires, especially without an all-in-one tool like managed file transfer.  It amazes me how many IT people still don’t realize there’s a better way to do things — a way that gives them more control, and more time to devote to all the other projects demanding their attention.  I know managed file transfer — and specifically GoAnywhere Director — changed my life at work.  I hope more of my IT colleagues discover the advantages soon.

GoAnywhere Director is the flagship component of the GoAnywhere managed file transfer suite, and it’s used by thousands of enterprise customers who need to initiate secure file transfers as part of their daily workflow.

Whether exchanging data with trading partners, vendors, customers, or even other servers, GoAnywhere Director is the preferred solution for our clients in both the IBM Power Systems environment as well as Linux, Windows, Solaris and others because it simplifies, automates and secures file transfers efficiently, while still remaining affordable.

Director 4.0 has added a variety of features to improve the user experience, including enhanced job controls, custom add-ons, new options for holiday calendars for scheduling, and more than 30 additional advanced functions.

For more details, check out our latest announcement, or dig deeper by reviewing the software release notes.

If you’ve been considering a different solution for handling your secure file transfers, we invite you to begin 2012 by investigating GoAnywhere. Learn more about our managed file transfer solution, or simply request a free trial.

Given that Latin America has one of the highest rates of users who access banking online through computers and mobile technology, bankers have plenty of reason to stay on top of the latest cyber threats and security measures.

The Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA) and the Federation of Latin American Banks (La Federación Latinoamericana de Bancos – FELABAN) are hosting this unique joint Spanish/English conference. Attendees can participate in a variety of educational sessions on best practices for banking security, as well as gain access to vendors offering the latest security hardware, software cloud computing strategies for the banking sector.

Cyber crime is not just Latin America’s concern

A large portion of this year’s conference is devoted to preventing data breaches through security management of data, cloud services, electronic fraud detection and risk mitigation.

What makes Latin America’s challenges relevant is that the tactics developed by the cyber criminals that thrive there can be used on any financial system in the world. Conferences like the  CELAES 2011 conference helps educate and present solutions to banking executives in Latin America and help close the doors on cyber criminals.

Cyber crime in Latin America’s financial industry remains a serious concern for a variety of reasons. The developing legal systems in many Latin American countries are adding laws to combat cyber crime, but enforcement is lacking. This is further compounded by the absence of the “personal privacy” notion within many of the governing entities in some Latin American countries. Another issue for the Latin American financial sector, according to Frost & Sullivan, is that 70% of people making online transactions believe that the bank or service provider is responsible for fraud and protecting their online security.

Phishing, fraud and malware are common

Crime organizations and cartels present in Latin America have contributed to or funded cybercrime networks, making Latin America a haven for illegal electronic activity. Not only are these organizations stealing money and account information through online phishing/fraud, Bloomberg reports that one Mexican cartel is openly selling their own pirated versions of Microsoft products. Sold for a fraction of the retail cost, who knows what Trojans and back doors are included as “features.”

The ESET Trends and monthly Threat Reports calculate that 1 in 20 computers in Latin America are infected and the spread of malware is gaining speed as USB devices and now gaming consoles account for 40% of malware propagation. The growing number of infected machines gives the attackers a strong network of resources for both direct and indirect attacks on the financial sector.

The same PCI Data Security Standards required for financial institutions in North America are making an impact in Latin America. Financial institutions are realizing that they are less susceptible to a breach during a cyber attack when they’ve spent the time and resources to implement even a few of the PCI requirements like network monitoring, complex passwords and data encryption of account and payment information (PCI DSS requirements now apply to International payment processing).

Linoma Software is part of the solution

During the conference Linoma Software’s partner Green Light Technology, a conference sponsor and a respected solutions provider for  the Latin American banking industry, will present Crypto Complete for database encryption and the GoAnywhere secure managed file transfer solutions. Both products protect and encrypt sensitive data, reduce access to primary systems, provide data workflow automation and detailed audit features.

Thanks to the efforts of FIBA, FELABAN and cooperation among international agencies, Latin American banking and finance representatives have the opportunity to fight back against cyber criminals, and the lessons learned will benefit all of us.

Still, we find it’s sometimes challenging to quickly explain the power and convenience of our managed file transfer software, so we’re excited to introduce some brand new videos to showcase the flexibility and control GoAnywhere clients have.

GoAnywhere’s suite of secure file transfer solutions helps you manage all of your organization’s inbound and outbound file transfers — both internally as well as with external trading partners.

With support for virtually any platform and protocol, including FTP, FTPS, SFTP, HTTP/S, AS2, SMTP and ZIP, GoAnywhere puts local control of the entire process into one intuitive dashboard.  GoAnywhere eliminates the need for custom scripts, generates detailed audit logs, and provides a rich catalog of features for comprehensive management, all without additional hardware or specialized skills.

If you’d like to test drive a free trial, let us know.  We’d also love to hear what you think of our videos!

In Linoma Software’s latest case study, IDB (Swiss) Bank faced this dilemma, and after careful research, chose Crypto Complete to help them serve the privacy needs of their clients while meeting compliance requirements.  Crypto Complete provides both field and file encryption as well as backup and IFS encryption.

Thanks to the cost-effective backup encryption options Crypto Complete delivers for iSeries users, as well as the attentive support both from Linoma Software and the local team from the European Software Business Development (ESBD), IDBS was up and running quickly with a long-term strategy in place.

To learn more about how IDBS made the decision to choose Crypto Complete, please explore our newly released case study.