Cyber ​​Attacks: Companies Fear An Increase In The Next Two Years

According to a survey by KPMG, 61 per cent of companies in Germany rate their risk of being attacked by computer criminals as “high” or “very high”.

A Particularly Worrying Result Of The Study:

Almost all companies find it increasingly difficult even to recognize the first signs of a cyber attack (84 per cent). And more than half assume that the risk of a cyber attack will increase in the next two years. This is the result of a survey by KPMG among 1,000 companies selected by industry and turnover on cyber attacks and their experiences with computer crime.

Cyber ​​Attacks Via Phishing Emails, Email Compromise Or Ransomware

“Computer crime is eating away at the corporate landscape like an ulcer. Mail servers, in particular, are an attractive target for attacks. Phishing emails, business email compromises or ransomware attacks are the order of the day practically everywhere. The attacks are becoming more and more diverse, more resounding, correspondingly more explosive and expensive for the company. The increasing complexity of the technologies used represents a major challenge for more than three-quarters of those surveyed.”

Carelessness and inadequately trained employees (95 and 3 81 percent respectively) are among the most commonly cited factors that promote computer crime. In addition, the companies see a lack of safety culture or a lack of understanding of risk among their employees (86 per cent) as significant risk factors. “Appropriate training and raising employee awareness are of central importance to prevent computer crime in one’s own company. It would be ideal if people could develop an awareness similar to a ‘human firewall’.”

Targeting Mail Servers – Fraud Is The Most Common

Thirty-nine per cent of the companies surveyed stated that they had been affected by computer crime since 2019. By far, the most common target for perpetrators is the company’s mail server (67 per cent). Among criminal offences, fraud has seen a noticeable increase: it already accounts for half of all cases, followed by extortion and data theft, each with around 25 per cent. Almost a quarter of those surveyed were already exposed to a successful ransomware attack, and another 31 per cent could fend off such attempts.

Forty per cent of the companies affected by a ransomware attack lost their operations with severe consequences. This means a significant increase compared to the previous study from 2019 (27 per cent). In every second company, more than 75 percent of the IT landscape was affected by the failure. Michael Sauermann comments: “Almost half of these companies then took at least two days before they were able to resume operations. In practice, we see cases in which companies lie idle for weeks or even months.” What is particularly annoying is that identifying the perpetrators is still very difficult. The vast majority must be assigned to the unknown external category.

Cyberattacks: Pandemic Forces Companies To Upgrade

Forty-five per cent of the companies surveyed stated that they had taken measures to increase IT security because of the Covid 19 pandemic. To ward off cyberattacks, particular attention was paid to setting up secure communication channels to access the company network (91 per cent). In addition, the definition and communication of clear regulations and specifications for working from home (90 per cent).