Overview
- Bitkom’s late‑August report found 37% of companies that suffered theft, espionage or sabotage said at least one attack came from a foreign intelligence service, with 52% tracing incidents to China and 49% to Russia.
- Companies report a rapid rise in AI‑assisted social‑engineering attacks, with Robo‑Calls causing harm at 14% of firms and Deepfake damage doubling to 8% compared with a year earlier.
- Organised criminal groups remain the most common attackers, cited by 62% of affected firms, but authorities and firms warn that ties between state services and criminal hackers blur attribution.
- The government approved a mid‑August draft to widen BND and BfV cyber‑defence tools and officials say stronger preventive measures are needed, though the package still must clear parliament.
- Bitkom gives a damage corridor of €211–€270.8 billion and warns that falling incident verification and stagnant security budgets leave many firms exposed to supply‑chain disruption, lost contracts and longer‑term competitive harm.