A red flash code indicates an emergency or critical system failure. This is the highest level of alert and it requires immediate attention to prevent further damage or loss of data. It could indicate a hardware, software, network, application, database or other type of problem that needs to be addressed right away in order for normal operations to be resumed. Common causes for a red flash code include power outages, overheating components and malicious attacks on the system. Depending on the severity of the issue at hand, IT personnel may have to take certain steps such as shutting down systems and restoring from backups in order to restore functionality.