According to a study, eleven percent of companies in Germany fell victim to hacker attacks last year – and the threat is growing through the use of artificial intelligence (AI). That goes from the TÜV cybersecurity study out, which was published on Monday in Berlin. According to this, 57 percent of the company security officers surveyed stated that they saw their company threatened by organized cybercrime. Almost two-thirds are in favor of stricter legal requirements, such as an obligation to protect against hackers. Three quarters see a competitive advantage in increased cyber security.
The number of hacker attacks has increased significantly since the Russian attack on Ukraine, said TÜV Association President Johannes Bussmann. As in previous studies, it was shown that larger companies with more than 250 companies in particular take the issue seriously (80 percent), for companies with up to 50 employees this is only 50 percent. “At some point it will hit everyone,” warned Bußmann.
The Vice President of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), Gerhard Schabhüser, spoke of a “dramatic professionalization” of the attackers. Both emphasized that artificial intelligence is also playing an increasingly important role and called for product certification. With a view to the rapidly increasing influence of AI, Bussmann said that the study was brought forward because there is also enormous pressure for politicians to act. Schabhüser sees the energy sector as relatively “robust” against cyber attacks. However, like in telecommunications, he expects a broader debate there about the secure use of components in the networked infrastructure.