Cybercrime causes Germany to suffer a loss of 206 billion euros in 2021
The German state suffered damage as a result of cybercrime in an amount that will exceed the limit of 200 billion euros for the third year in a row in more than 1,000 companies.
Theft of IT equipment and data, as well as digital and industrial espionage and sabotage, will cost Germany 206 billion euros ($224 billion) this year, German digital association Bitkom said on Friday.
“The German economy is a very attractive target for criminals and hostile states. “The lines between organized crime and state-controlled actors are rather blurred,” said Bitcom President Ralf Wintergerst.
Around three-quarters of companies surveyed had suffered a digital attack in the past 12 months, down from 84% of companies in the previous year.
The slight decrease in the number of companies is a positive sign and indicates that protective measures are working, according to analysts who deal with this problem.
ShutterstockWhen asked whether “cyber attacks threaten your business existence”, for the first time more than half of the companies, i.e. 52 percent, answered “yes”. A year ago, that figure was 45 percent, and two years ago, only 9 percent, the research showed.
Of the companies that suffered attacks, as many as 70% of cases had sensitive data stolen, which is an increase of 7% compared to the previous year. Similarly, 61% of companies have had their digital communications spied on – up 4% from the previous year, Reuters reports.