German companies are increasingly at the center of cyber attacks from home and abroad. This is the result of a study presented in Berlin by the IT industry association Bitkom, which represents over two thousand digital companies in Germany. According to the study, in the last twelve months, 81 percent of German companies were the target of data and IT equipment theft and the subject of industrial espionage or digital and analog sabotage. The percentage is significantly higher than the average for the whole of 2023, when 72.8 percent of companies were affected by attacks. The material damage caused by the attacks is also increasing: it rose from a total of 205.9 billion euros in 2023 to 266.6 billion euros (+29 percent).

70 percent of companies affected by attacks attribute responsibility to organized crime, but belief in the involvement of foreign intelligence services is also increasing (7 percent more than in 2023). Currently, 20 percent of companies believe that the attacks come from intelligence services of foreign states. Also according to the study, China has become the most important starting point for attacks on the German economy. 45 percent of the companies affected were able to trace at least one attack back to the country (in 2023 the share was 42 percent). Russia is in second place with 39 percent, which represents a significant decrease from 2023, when the share was 46 percent. At the same time, attacks from Eastern European countries outside the EU, excluding Russia, have increased to 32 percent of the total in the last 12 months (in 2023 the share was 25 percent).

Finally, attacks from Germany are declining: they now account for only 20 percent, compared to 29 percent in 2023. According to the study, two-thirds (65 percent) of companies currently see their existence threatened by cyber attacks, compared to 52 percent a year ago and only 9 percent in 2021. At the same time, only half (53 percent) believe that their company is well prepared for cyber attacks.

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