IT Baseline Protection Manual - The Information Warfare Site

Safeguard Catalogue - Organisation Remarks
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S 2.135 Save transfer of data to a database
Initiation responsibility: Head of IT Section, IT Security Management
Implementation responsibility: Administrators
In many database systems, it is necessary for applications to take over data
from other systems. A basic distinction can be made between the following
categories here:
- Transfer of initial or old data
This involves the transfer of data from old systems, required when a new
database system is procured in order to increase productivity, for example.
In this case, the following measures must be specially observed:
- The data must be available in a format which is accepted by the
destination database
- The data must be complete, i.e. data must be available for all the
fields of the destination database which need to be filled
- The consistency and integrity of the database must be guaranteed
Before data is actually transferred, it is necessary to form a concept
describing how the data is to be prepared for the process of transfer, and
how this process is to take place. In addition, a full backup of the old data
is absolutely necessary. If the data is to be transferred in several steps, an
independent data backup should be performed before each step.
- Regular transfer of data
If the destination database already contains data which must remain
unaltered during the subsequent transmission of additional data, or if new
data is transferred to the database at regular intervals, the following
measures must be observed:
- A full backup of the database must be created before the transfer of
new data
- If possible, data transfer should take place outside regular operating
hours
- Users whose activities will be influenced by the impending transfer
of data must be informed duly, particularly if availability and
response times are likely to be affected
- Prior to the initial transfer of new data, it is necessary to form a
concept describing how the data is to be prepared for the process of
transfer, and how this process is to take place. In particular, this
concept must include a description of how to avoid conflicts
between the data already existing in the destination database and the
data to be transferred, i.e. the extent to which the integrity and
consistency of the destination database remain protected. In addition,
measures must be taken to prevent multiple transfer of the same
data.
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IT-Baseline Protection Manual: Oktober 2000