Mainframe Security and Legacy Platform Hardening
RCCE students will learn how to secure mainframes and other legacy enterprise platforms that still support critical identity, financial, and operational workloads. RCCE students will learn to understand legacy trust assumptions, review access models, evaluate hardening opportunities, monitor privileged activity, and reduce risk in environments where modernization is gradual and availability is paramount. The course covers practical scenarios ranging from access review to hardening, monitoring, and governance. RCCE students will learn to analyze complex systems and think like an attacker to better defend the organization. This comprehensive course delivers practical knowledge applicable to real-world cybersecurity operations. Starting from foundational concepts, RCCE students will learn through a combination of concept explanation, practical demonstration, and hands-on exercises.
- Endpoint Security Engineers and EDR Analysts
- Windows and macOS Administrators managing privileges
- Identity and Access Management Engineers
- IT Security Operations Leads reducing attack surface
- Professionals implementing Mainframe Security and Legacy Platform Hardening
- Execute hands-on tasks for legacy platform hardening
- Explain Course Overview fundamentals
- Execute hands-on tasks for what you will learn — covering Secure mainframes and legacy platforms.
- Execute hands-on tasks for why mainframes still matter
- Execute hands-on tasks for industry dependence
- Execute hands-on tasks for security implications — covering Process billions of transactions.
- Explain Mainframe Architecture Foundations fundamentals — covering MVS heritage, 64-bit architecture, Transaction processing engines, Job Entry Subsystem scheduling.
- Execute hands-on tasks for z/os operating system — covering MVS heritage, 64-bit architecture.
- Execute hands-on tasks for cics and ims subsystems — covering Transaction processing engines.
- Execute hands-on tasks for jes and batch processing — covering Job Entry Subsystem scheduling.
- Execute hands-on tasks for communication protocols — covering SNA, TN3270, TCP/IP stacks.
- Execute hands-on tasks for legacy trust assumptions
| Module 01 | Legacy Platform Hardening |
| Module 02 | Course Overview |
| Module 03 | What You Will Learn |
| Module 04 | Why Mainframes Still Matter |
| Module 05 | Industry Dependence |
| Module 06 | Security Implications |
| Module 07 | Mainframe Architecture Foundations |
| Module 08 | z/OS Operating System |
| Module 09 | CICS and IMS Subsystems |
| Module 10 | JES and Batch Processing |
| Module 11 | Communication Protocols |
| Module 12 | Legacy Trust Assumptions |
| Module 13 | Implicit Trust Patterns |
| Module 14 | Why These Fail Today |
All hands-on labs run on Rocheston Rose X OS. Students practice mainframe security and legacy platform hardening by implementing the controls discussed in class, with a focus on real-world deployment, monitoring, and validation.
- Lab 1: Execute hands-on tasks for legacy platform hardening
- Lab 2: Explain Course Overview fundamentals
- Lab 3: Execute hands-on tasks for what you will learn
- Lab 4: Execute hands-on tasks for why mainframes still matter
- Lab 5: Execute hands-on tasks for industry dependence
Upon successful completion of this course, students will receive an official RCCE Course Completion Certificate for Mainframe Security and Legacy Platform Hardening, verifiable through the Rocheston certification portal.
- Full access to all course materials and slide decks
- Hands-on lab access on Rocheston Rose X OS environment
- Access to Rocheston CyberNotes
- Access to Rocheston Zelfire — EDR/XDR SIEM platform
- Access to Rocheston Raven — online cyber range exercise platform
- Access to Rocheston Vulnerability Vines AI