Bitkom on the Federal Cybercrime Report
Berlin, 13 May 2024 - Today, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser, BKA President Holger Münch and BSI President Claudia Plattner are presenting the "Federal Cybercrime Situation Report". Bitkom President Dr. Ralf Wintergerst explains:
"Cyberattacks are probably currently the greatest threat to the economy, society and the state. By jointly presenting the Federal Cybercrime Situation Report for the first time today, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Criminal Police Office and the BSI are showing that the significance has been recognized. Every year, the German economy suffers 206 billion euros in damage due to the theft of IT equipment and data as well as digital and analog industrial espionage and sabotage, affecting around three quarters (72 percent) of all companies in Germany. Pure cyberattacks now account for 148 billion euros, or 72%, of this figure, compared to 59% in 2021. And almost every second company (48%) fears that a successful cyberattack could threaten its own existence. We welcome the success of the authorities' investigations, to which Federal Minister of the Interior Faeser rightly refers. However, it is of little help to companies if we know who has carried out a cyberattack but have no access to the criminals because foreign authorities refuse to cooperate. We need to massively increase our digital defenses and resilience.
To be able to fight cybercrime, we need to concentrate expertise and responsibilities more strongly among the security authorities in the short term; cyberattacks are not based on our federal structures. And they do not stop at national borders. For example, 46% of affected companies were recently able to trace attacks back to Russia and 42% to China - these are negative records. Cyber attacks are an essential part of hybrid warfare. A successful cyber attack does not simply paralyze computers. It can bring production to a standstill, but it can also cause the energy supply to collapse or shut down hospitals and transport hubs. Close cooperation is therefore necessary between domestic law enforcement agencies, our intelligence services and even the German armed forces. In cyberspace, the boundaries between internal and external security have been blurred. We must find an adequate response to this new situation by ensuring even closer cooperation between all the agencies involved throughout Germany."
