Why Safety and Security Should and Will Merge

Abstract

In the past, IT-systems at most were either safety-critical (i.e. no catastrophic consequences for the environment of the IT-system) or security-critical (i.e. even determined attackers cannot gain unauthorized access to information within and/or withhold resources of the IT-system). In future, more and more IT-systems will be both, safety- and security-critical. The reason for this is that IT-systems are embedded in ever more influential parts of our living- and working environment and that these embedded IT-systems are networked – be it to enhance their functionality now (or just as an option for future use), be it to ease maintenance.