German companies in their sights: More hacker attacks than ever before

The German economy finds itself in a threatening situation. According to the Federation of German Industries, the number of cyberattacks has increased during the pandemic. The main reason is working from the home office.

German companies are more of a target for criminal attacks than ever before, according to the Federation of German Industries (BDI). "German business has never been attacked as much as it is today," Matthias Wachter, head of security at the BDI, told the Welt am Sonntag newspaper. "The number of attacks has increased further in the Corona pandemic because companies are even more vulnerable in the home office." Representatives of security authorities and associations confirm the development.

 "The threat situation remains very tense and has been exacerbated by the pandemic," according to the report from the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI). "Cyber attacks with extortion software play a major role in this." Particularly in the case of hacker attacks aimed at unblocking computer systems only after a ransom has been paid, there has been an "increased aggressiveness."

Industry does not consider the German government's defensive measures and its support for business to be sufficient. A concept for a "National Economic Protection Strategy" drawn up by the BDI stipulates that politics and business should cooperate closely, the newspaper further reported.

Among other things, the concept calls for the German government to appoint a "coordinator for economic protection" with the rank of state minister or state secretary. The BDI also calls for a national economic protection center to be set up as a public-private partnership to act as an interface between security authorities and companies.

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