German firms report rising cyber threat from foreign intelligence services, study shows

German companies are increasingly being targeted by cyberattacks that they suspect are linked to foreign intelligence services, a study by digital industry association Bitkom showed on Wednesday.

More than one in three companies hit by cyberattacks, or 37%, said they had attributed at least one incident in the past 12 months to a foreign intelligence service. That was up from 28% ‌a year ⁠earlier and ⁠more than five times the 7% recorded in 2023.

China and Russia were the main suspected sources of such attacks, with Iran seen playing a growing role. Of the affected companies, 52% traced at least one attack to China and 49% to Russia, while 9% attributed an attack to Iran. All three countries have denied conducting cyberattacks abroad.

German officials have warned in recent weeks of a growing threat ⁠from cyber ‌and hybrid attacks.

Bitkom said organised crime remained the leading source of attacks, affecting 62% of companies surveyed. But the lines between criminal ⁠groups and state intelligence services are often blurred, Bitkom President Ralf Wintergerst said.

“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,” he said.

Annual total damage from data theft, industrial espionage and sabotage amounts to at least €211 billion, said Bitkom, which represents more than 2,200 companies in the digital economy and supports moves to strengthen cybersecurity.

The study ‌also pointed to a growing use of AI, with traditional methods such as ransomware declining and AI-enabled attacks including robocalls and deepfakes causing greater damage.

Eight in 10 companies expect ⁠attackers to increase their use of AI. “Artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing the nature of attacks,” Wintergerst said.

The share of companies that feel very well prepared for cyberattacks fell to 43% from 50% a year earlier. Still, fewer companies said a successful cyberattack could threaten their survival, down to 45% from 59% a year earlier.

Cybersecurity spending was unchanged, with IT security accounting for an average 18% of companies’ overall IT budgets. More than 1,000 companies were surveyed for the representative study.