Today, many business processes require at least temporarily intact communication links, either by telephone, fax, e-mail or other services using local area networks (LAN) or wide area networks (WAN). If some or several of these communication links fail over a longer period of time, this may have the following consequences:

• business processes can no longer be carried out, since necessary information cannot be retrieved.
• customers can no longer contact the organisation for questions.
• orders cannot be placed or completed.

If time-critical IT applications are run on IT systems that are connected via wide area networks, then the initial damage and consequential damage possible are correspondingly high if no alternative methods are available (such as connecting to a second communication network).

Similar problems may occur if there are malfunctions in the required communication networks, but without a complete failure. For example, communication links may also a have a higher error rate or other quality defects. Incorrect operating parameters may also lead to impairments.

Examples:

• Today, the Internet has become an indispensable means of communication for many organisations, among other things, to retrieve important information, to present themselves and to communicate with customers and partners. Companies which specialise in Internet-based services particularly depend on a properly functioning Internet connection.
• As networks converge, voice and data services are often transported using the same technical components (e.g. VoIP). This, however, increases the risk that the voice services and data services fail at the same time if there is a malfunction in communications technology.

Pedidos ligados

• BSI -

  Copyright by Bundesamt für Sicherheit in der Informationstechnik (https://www.bsi.bund.de/)