More than 800 companies and institutions fell victim to cyber attacks last year. Perpetrators are increasingly attacking from abroad. Interior Minister Faeser warns in particular of attacks from Russia.
According to the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), the danger from cyber attacks continues to grow. There is an “increasing trend in cyber attacks in both quantitative and qualitative terms,” said the authority when presenting the “Federal Cybercrime Situation Report” for 2023.
According to the report, this is primarily due to cases in which the perpetrators are abroad or whose whereabouts are unknown – but they cause the damage in Germany. Cybercrime crimes recorded abroad increased by around 28 percent compared to the previous year. An increase in attacks from abroad has been observed since 2000, when these acts were first recorded separately.
Domestic attacks are falling slightly
The number of domestic cyber attacks, however, fell by 1.8 percent in 2023, according to police crime statistics. The clearance rate rose slightly to 32 percent. The Federal Criminal Police Office has successfully dismantled criminal networks from which cybercrime originates, said Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser.
At the same time, the SPD politician emphasized: “We must continue to increase protection against current threats everywhere.” The threat level remains high. Faeser explicitly named Russia as the perpetrator of cybercrime.
The digital association Bitkom warns that attacks from China are also increasing. Within two years, the number of known cases increased by 50 percent. The number of attacks from Russia has even doubled, said Managing Director Bernhard Rohleder in the joint morning magazine ARD and ZDF. 80 percent of companies are affected by attacks such as data theft, espionage or sabotage.
Financially strong companies in sight
Nationwide, more than 800 companies and institutions reported ransomware cases in 2023, according to the federal situation report. Perpetrators particularly often attack financially strong companies and public institutions. But easily vulnerable small and medium-sized companies also often fell victim to attacks.
The most serious threats continue to be ransomware attacks, in which criminals encrypt company or public administration data and demand a ransom for decryption.
Perpetrators took a “summer break”
According to Bitkom, the perpetrators caused damage worth 205.9 billion euros in 2023 – through analog and digital theft, industrial espionage and sabotage of companies. The association attributes almost three quarters of the total damage to cyber attacks.
Perpetrators blackmailed 16.1 billion euros with stolen or encrypted data. According to the report, most perpetrators struck in the spring and fall, with an annual trend of a “summer break” in between.