BSI ID: G 0.9

Many business processes today require at least temporary intact communication connections, whether by telephone, fax, email or other services via local or wide area networks. If some or all of these communication connections fail for an extended period of time, this can lead, for example, to

• business processes no longer being able to be processed because the necessary information cannot be accessed,

• customers no longer being able to contact the institution for queries,

• orders not being able to be placed or completed.

If time-critical applications are run on IT systems connected via wide area networks, the damage and consequential damage caused by a network failure is correspondingly high if no alternatives (e.g. connection to a second communications network) are available. Similar problems can arise if the required communications networks are disrupted but do not fail completely. Communication connections may, for example, have an increased error rate or other quality defects. Incorrect operating parameters can also lead to impairments.

Examples:

• The Internet has become an indispensable communication medium for many institutions, including for retrieving important information, presenting themselves to the outside world and communicating with customers and partners. Companies that specialise in Internet-based services are, of course, particularly dependent on a functioning Internet connection.

• As networks converge, voice and data services are often transported via the same technical components (e.g. VoIP). However, this increases the risk that voice and data services will fail simultaneously in the event of a communication technology failure.