1.6 Information Flow and Points of Contact

As well as regular updates and further development of the IT Baseline Protection Manual, the BSI publishes other topical information covering all aspects of IT baseline protection over various communications media.

BSI IT Baseline Protection CD-ROM

The CD-ROM enclosed with the manual contains all the text and auxiliary aids for the German IT Baseline Protection Manual both in Word and PDF format.

The BSI distributes special BSI CD-ROMs on the topic of IT baseline protection free of charge. These are normally available six weeks after a supplement to the manual has been issued. As well as the latest German version of the IT Baseline Protection Manual, the CDs also contain the English translation and the HTML version of the manual plus other information from the BSI.

IT baseline protection on the Intranet

The electronic versions of the IT Baseline Protection Manual can also be made available on Intranets. The best version to use for this purpose is the HTML version. Use of this version does not require any special permission from the BSI.

IT baseline protection on the Internet

The entire manual may also be accessed both in German and in English on the Internet at http://www.bsi.bund.de/gshb. Information on recent developments concerning the manual and the latest aids which are available can also be found there. In addition, the site contains links to mirror sites which similarly present the IT Baseline Protection Manual on the Internet. Provision of a mirror for IT baseline protection requires registration with BSI at gshb@bsi.bund.de, in order that the BSI can make the latest version of the manual available.

IT Baseline Protection Hotline

For topical questions relating to all aspects of the topic of IT baseline protection, the BSI provides a Hotline which is manned during normal office hours (8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday to Friday). The Hotline can be contacted as follows:

Phone: +49 (0)228/9582-369
Fax: +49 (0)228 / 9582-405
E-mail: gshb@bsi.bund.de

Suggestions for improvement, notification of inaccuracies and requests for new topics to be covered can also be passed to the IT Baseline Hotline.

Voluntary registration

To keep the manual up-to-date and in line with users' needs, the BSI needs to exchange experiences with users of the manual. At the same time it actively seeks channels by which it can inform users directly about topical aspects of the subject of IT baseline protection (advance notification of new modules and developments, invitations to the IT Baseline Protection Forum, questionnaire campaigns). To receive this information, users of the manual can voluntarily register themselves with the BSI. The data passed on by users is stored and only used for the purposes of exchanging information about IT security and IT baseline protection. Registration is free of charge. Due to the large number of voluntarily registered users, the BSI can only distribute such information by e-mail or fax. Postal services are only seldom used.

The form for voluntary registration will be found in the annex. It can be delivered to the BSI by writing to BSI, IT-Grundschutz-Hotline, Postfach 20 03 63, 53133 Bonn, Germany, by fax (+49 (0)228/9582-405) or by e-mail (gshb@bsi.bund.de).

To create transparency as to which sectors employ IT baseline protection, the BSI publishes the names of those registered institutions which agree to have their names published. The BSI regularly queries the registered users on this matter. The current status is available in the annex.