Data Management and Recovery Tools The objective of data management and recovery controls is to ensure that data processing is restored in a manner that: Sustains operations and does not compromise the integrity of financial transactions or data Supports the companies’ ability to file timely, complete and accurate reports Limits access to back-up data that is moved into production The impact of strong controls is that the data management process preserve completeness and accuracy of financial reports, and data access is properly restricted, assuring data is not altered or deleted. However, unauthorized access or changes to database structure or information held within databases, or lack of sufficient data retention due to inadequate backup and recovery measures, may compromise financial information causing significant deficiencies in compliance. BMC Solutions BMC Database Management products, which are part of the BMC Infrastructure Management and BMC Application Management Routes to Value, support both mainframe and distributed environments. These database products assure that financial and private data is recorded, processed and reported. They also ensure that the financial and private data remain complete, accurate and valid throughout the update and storage process. BMC Database Management products provide monitoring and performance tuning, data change management, database security management, backup and recovery, and database archiving. Database Management products specifically address seven General IT Controls as specified by the IT Governance Institute’s adaptation of COBIT for Sarbanes-Oxley IT audit preparation. Database Security COBIT suggests general IT controls that ensure financial data, whether live or at rest, is secure against unauthorized access, invalid transactions, or any other type of modification which invalidates the integrity of the financial reports. Using BMC Database Security Management and BMC Identity Management solutions, companies can: Ensure databases are automatically scanned for compliance/vulnerability exposures Provide data level audit tracking and alerting on any unusual transactions Define rules to enabled tracking "who, what, when, and where" at the individual transaction level Database Backup & Recovery COBIT suggests general IT controls that require financial data to be completely recoverable in the event of a logical or physical failure, without loss of data that would invalidate the integrity of the financial reports. Using BMC Database Recovery solutions companies can: Deploy an enterprise backup and recovery policy management Automate backup and recovery processes Provide the ability to demonstrate recovery processes to remote locations Database Administration COBIT suggests general IT controls that require data structure changes be made using an authorized process, and that all impacts and deltas are tracked and reported to ensure that there are no unauthorized changes that could invalidate the financial reporting systems. Using BMC Database Administration solutions companies can: Deploy a workflow and task approval process Track all changes to data structures and catch those that are made outside of the authorized change approval process Produce delta of changes between releases to provide complete summary of data structure changes for compliance reporting Database Monitoring and Performance Tuning COBIT suggests general IT controls that require procedures exist for identifying, correcting and reporting errors to ensure that no transactions that could affect the validity of the financial reports are lost. Using BMC Database Monitoring and Alert Automation and BMC Database Performance Tuning solutions companies can: Monitor and manage availability Automate error detection Analyze and automate correction Feed events directly to service management processes