BMW 2007 Annual Report Download - page 69

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potential impact on the Group of unexpectedly high
market fluctuations.
From 2008 onwards, in a measure to reduce
risks further, the BMW Group intends to set up pen-
sion funds for all of its pension commitments that
are not already externally funded. This will take place
over the coming years in three stages.
Information and IT risks
Great importance is attached in the BMW Group to
the protection of data, business secrets and inno-
vative development against unauthorised access,
damage and misuse. The protection of information
and data is an integral component of business
pro-
cesses and is achieved within the BMW Group by ap-
plying international security standards. Employees,
process design and information technology each play
a role in the Group’s comprehensive security concept.
The Group’s procedures are documented in regular-
ly updated manuals, guidelines and process descrip-
tions. All of these require employees to handle infor-
mation appropriately and ensure that information
systems are properly used. Purposeful communica-
tion and training measures create a high degree of
security awareness on the part of all people involved.
The technical data protection procedures used by
the BMW Group include process-specific security
measures as well as standard activities such as virus
scanners, firewall systems and access controls at
operating system and application level. Further
measures include internal testing procedures and
the regular back-up of data. A security network is
in place throughout the Group to ensure compliance
with security specifications. Regular analyses and
rigorous security management ensure high-quality
protection. This includes the activities of the BMW
Group’s Security Operations Centre which is re-
sponsible for the security of internal network com-
munications. The
Group’s core process Product
develop ment and the related IT infrastructure have
been audited and certified to international security
standard ISO 27001/17799. Protecting BMW
Group-specific know-how is also treated as a major
issue as far as cooperation arrangements and rela-
tionships with partner companies are concerned.
The BMW Group protects its intellectual property
by ensuring that the relevant departments have clear
instructions regarding data protection and the use
of information technology. Information underlying
key areas of expertise is subject to particularly
stringent security measures. In addition, employees
working in such functions are increasingly receiving
specific training in the area of data protection.