When the internet connection fails, applications and data become inaccessible. The impact of this can be significant. A plan for cyber resilience therefore also includes the connection in the overall picture.
The life of a modern enterprise doesn’t hang by a thread, but by a fiber optic cable. Ten years ago, connectivity was already important, but many companies could still manage without the internet for a while. Today, extensive digital transformation has made connectivity crucial in business operations.
Ransomware can encrypt data, causing a company to come to a standstill. When a branch’s connection to a data center fails, data and applications are equally unavailable. Cyber resilience is therefore more relevant to the network than ever. Redundancy is therefore essential, according to Hans Witdouck, CEO of Eurofiber Belgium.
Small Break, Big Impact
“Everyone is undergoing a digital transformation today,” says Witdouck. “Business-critical processes no longer run in the building where the majority of people work, but in the cloud or a colocation data center. A few years ago, if an internet line was cut during construction, it was annoying, but the impact was usually limited. Today, a cable break has a significant impact.”
Today, a cable break has a significant impact.
Hans Witdouck, CEO Eurofiber Belgium
“Moreover, the geopolitical situation has changed,” he continues. “People realize that an underwater cable can be sabotaged. On land, that should be even easier.” This combination of factors has raised connectivity higher on the agenda during directors’ meetings. “CIOs are wondering how they can protect themselves.”
The Illusion of Redundancy
Witdouck and Eurofiber make their living by answering that question. According to Witdouck, there are many options for redundancy, but some are better than others.
“The simplest option is to put a second fiber optic cable in the same duct,” he explains. “You would think that’s not too smart. When a cable break occurs, both fibers will be cut. Yet it often happens in practice.”
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No Cyber Resilience without (more than one) Fiber Optic Cable
Witdouck points to what he calls vendor redundancy: “In that case, a company independently takes two connections from two different providers, such as a line with us and one with another telecom company.”
Designing
However, many operators rent lines from other parties. So it may be that the supposedly redundant line from a second provider also runs through the Eurofiber duct. If a break occurs during construction, the two connections turn out not to be truly redundant, leaving the customer without service.”
“These are not fairy tales,” Witdouck emphasizes. “Such things have happened before.” There are two solutions. “Either you approach one party that designs everything in detail, or you go through a second party and investigate where the fiber is located.”
In both cases, true redundancy requires that the connection architecture is designed. When redundant fiber optic lines converge or cross each other, there is still a single point where everything can go wrong. A true backup line follows a completely different route.
Quadruple Redundancy
How far a company wants to go in this regard depends on the organization. In critical sites such as data centers or air traffic control infrastructure, fiber optic cables enter the building from different sides. This way, there is no overlap. Sometimes even triple or quadruple redundancy is chosen. In other cases, the lines converge in the site’s parking lot. “That may be sufficient, but if construction work occurs in the parking lot, there is a risk.”
There must not only be a second path for the connection, the path must also remain functional,
Hans Witdouck, CEO Eurofiber Belgium
“There must not only be a second path for the connection,” Witdouck adds. “The path must also remain functional, with active components connected to a different power network. Otherwise, a power outage can still disrupt the connection. The alternative path must also have sufficient bandwidth to handle network traffic when the primary route fails.”
View on the Backup
Among other things, with this in mind, Eurofiber acquired Arcadiz earlier this year. “Arcadiz has a lot of complementary expertise, not only in the physical optical layer but in the entire active network. Think of testing connections and monitoring traffic, also proactively on redundant lines. This way, a fault can be detected and resolved before a customer notices anything.”
A second pillar for robust connectivity is related to recovery. “Suppose a line does break, then you want it to be repaired as soon as possible. You get that guarantee more easily from a company that works exclusively for professional clients. Connectivity that is part of a connection for thousands of residential customers involves a different dynamic,” says Witdouck.
A (Calculated) Cost
“Redundancy has a cost, but the cost of downtime is nothing compared to the investment.” According to him, more and more large companies are turning to Eurofiber to solve this puzzle.
Thanks to the collaboration with Arcadiz, Witdouck believes his company is excellently positioned to assist with this. “The acquisition is already bearing fruit. One plus one really is three. When organizations come with larger issues, I am confident that what we can do is very difficult to surpass.”