Mainframe Security: Why Continuous Vulnerability Analysis Is Essential

Mainframe security requires a shift toward continuous vulnerability analysis to protect critical data, as 71% of Fortune 500 companies still use mainframes and nearly 97% of banks worldwide rely on IBM mainframe products as of 2025.

Organizations often treat mainframes as inherently secure systems of record, but strong built-in controls are insufficient without continuous verification. The gap between the discovery of a vulnerability and its exploitation is shrinking, meaning overlooked configurations in z/OS environments can lead to unauthorized access to sensitive data.

Mainframe Exposure in Hybrid Architectures

Mainframes are not isolated from the rest of the enterprise. High-end systems can process over a million transactions per second in specific workloads and handle a substantial portion of global credit card processing and transactional workloads.

As companies adopt hybrid architectures, the number of interconnected systems increases. This connectivity expands the attack surface, making identity governance and access assurance critical for z/OS environments. Attackers target these systems because they house valuable business-critical assets.

AI Impact on Vulnerability Discovery

The use of AI is changing how security flaws are identified. Previously, finding exposures on a mainframe required deep, specialized expertise that few possessed. This complexity made these environments harder to analyze.

Recent developments involving Mythos, a highly restricted security research model from Anthropic, have highlighted how AI can accelerate the discovery of exploitable weaknesses. The availability of such tools makes identifying security gaps faster and cheaper, removing the “complexity” shield that previously protected specialized systems.

Limitations of Periodic Security Assessments

Many organizations continue to rely on annual or periodic configuration assessments. However, these “point-in-time” snapshots fail to account for the constant evolution of mainframe environments, where new weaknesses can emerge between scheduled checkpoints.

Continuous vulnerability analysis allows security teams to detect gaps in software and authorized programs earlier. This ongoing visibility provides more time to remediate risks before they escalate into active security incidents.

Implementing Continuous z/OS Visibility

To secure the mainframe as part of the broader enterprise attack surface, organizations must integrate it into general risk management processes. This requires several specific operational shifts:

• Ongoing validation of security controls instead of periodic reviews.
• Visibility into sensitivities across the entire z/OS environment.
• Faster identification and remediation of emerging weaknesses.
• Integration with enterprise-wide risk management.

Rocket Mainframe Security solutions provide tools to address these needs through the Rocket z/Assure Vulnerability Analysis Program (VAP). This solution is designed to identify weaknesses within authorized programs and support ongoing remediation efforts to reduce risk before it affects critical systems.