German firms report rising cyber threat from foreign intelligence services, study shows
Bitkom said 80% of companies expect more AI-driven attacks as China and Russia remain the main suspected sources.
- On Wednesday, the digital industry association Bitkom released its Wirtschaftsschutz 2026 study, showing that 37% of German companies now suspect foreign intelligence services behind cyberattacks—a figure that has climbed fivefold since 2023.
- Bitkom President Ralf Wintergerst noted the blurring lines between crime and state, saying, "Intelligence agencies make use of criminal structures; conversely, criminals are given free rein as long as they choose their targets in line with political directives."
- Among companies identifying specific sources, 52% traced at least one attack to China and 49% to Russia, while 9% attributed incidents to Iran; all three nations have denied conducting such cyber operations abroad.
- Some 87% of German firms reported data theft, espionage, or sabotage in the past 12 months, with annual damages reaching at least €211 billion, though cybersecurity spending remains unchanged at 18% of IT budgets.
- Defensive confidence has fallen as only 43% of firms feel adequately protected against attacks, while 80% of companies anticipate attackers will increasingly use artificial intelligence, which Wintergerst said is "fundamentally changing the nature of attacks.
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24 Articles
The German economy is becoming increasingly targeted by foreign secret services in cyber attacks.
Almost 40% of German companies that have suffered cyber attacks attribute at least one incident to foreign intelligence services. China and Russia are reported, by study, as the main suspects.
More than one in three German companies (37%) have observed at least one cyberattack in the past 12 months that could be attributed to a foreign intelligence service. According to the digital industry association Bitkom, the most common targets are China (52%) and Russia (49%). Iran is also increasingly suspected (9%). The total economic damage resulting from data theft, industrial espionage, and sabotage is estimated at at least €211 billion an…
Industrial espionage, data theft and sabotage cost German companies billions of euros each year. According to a study, attacks by state actors in particular have increased.
According to a survey, the German economy is becoming more and more targeted by state actors in cyber attacks. The attacks cost companies billions a year. Therefore, the perpetrators are mainly located in two countries.
87% of German companies were attacked last year, and Russia has caught up with China
Some 87% of German companies were hit by data theft, espionage, or sabotage in the past twelve months, up from 81% a year earlier, according to the industry association Bitkom, which puts the resulting damage at €289.2bn. What is new in this year’s report is not the trend but the method, because Bitkom has combined […] This story continues at The Next Web
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