July 25 , 2007
Long-term cooperation for company-wide security strategy
Lufthansa Systems and dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH will work together to optimize IT security for Germany's largest news agency. Lufthansa Systems will analyze and evaluate the security of dpa's core processes and the systems most in need of protection. Based on the resulting security goals, the IT service provider will suggest concrete measures to be implemented together with dpa. This may entail developing a disaster recovery concept for the agency's data centers in Germany or ensuring the protection of individual overseas offices.
Data security and availability are particularly important to a company whose core business is news driven. In order to prevent attacks on data, systems and, ultimately, the editorial staff, it is necessary for the data centers, transmission procedures and business processes to be checked regularly and adjusted if necessary. "We deliberately chose an external company for our latest IT security review since an impartial review is likely to reveal security risks which we would hardly notice because we're so deeply involved in the processes," said Helge Viehof, head of IT for dpa, explaining the decision to work with Lufthansa Systems. The decision was also based on the fact that Lufthansa Systems has extensive knowledge of the media industry and its processes thanks to its successful work for customers such as Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH, Süddeutscher Verlag, Premiere AG and AOL Deutschland GmbH.
"The distinguishing feature of this cooperation is that we're working together with our customer to establish a lasting strategy. This involves identifying potential security risks in the IT systems and proactively taking all necessary precautions to ensure that information flows securely, reliable and quickly for dpa," said Bernd Appel, Senior Vice President Industry Solutions at Lufthansa Systems.
Note to editors:
dpa is Germany's largest independent news and information provider. Owned by the German media, the dpa group employs about 1,100 staff. The company recorded sales of EUR 94.6 million in 2005, with a profit of EUR 2.1 million. dpa produces four international news wires in German, English, Spanish and Arabic as well as picture, graphics and audio news services. The company's portfolio also includes multimedia and mobile products and editorial services. On April 1, dpa launched its latest product, "dpa - News for Children."
Lufthansa Systems is one of the leading IT service providers for the airline and aviation industries worldwide. As a systems integrator, the wholly-owned subsidiary of the Lufthansa Group covers the entire range of IT services, including consulting, development, implementation and operation. Lufthansa Systems provides its IT infrastructure and operations services to a variety of industries. Headquartered in Kelsterbach near Frankfurt/Main, Germany, the company has branches in Germany and 15 other countries and employs about 3,320 people worldwide. In business year 2006, Lufthansa Systems recorded sales of EUR 652 million.
For further information, please contact:
Lufthansa Systems AG
Sandra Hammer
Corporate Communications
Tel.: +49 (0)69 696 90776
Fax: +49 (0)69 696 90777
E-mail: publicrelations@LHsystems.com