Losses Due To Theft Of Equipment And IT Data In Germany Reached IDR 3,425 Trillion In 2023

Illustration of cybercrime that harms the German government. (photo: dock. Pixabay)

JAKARTA - Germany's digital association, Bitkom, said on Friday September 1 that the theft of IT equipment and data, as well as digital and industrial espionage and sabotage, would cost Germany 206 billion euros (IDR 3,425 trillion) by 2023.

The loss will exceed the 200 billion euro (IDR 3,325 trillion) limit for the third time in a row, according to a Bitkom survey involving more than 1,000 companies.

"The German economy is a very attractive target for criminals and evil-meaning countries. The boundary between organized crime and state-controlled perpetrators has run away," said Bitkom President Ralf Wintergerst.

About three-quarters of companies surveyed experienced digital attacks in the past 12 months, down from 84% of companies in the previous year.

"The decline in the number of companies is a positive sign and shows that protective measures have an effect," Wintergerst said.

When asked if a "cyber attack threatens your business existence", for the first time more than half of the company, or 52%, replied "yes". A year ago the figure was at 45%, and two years ago it was only 9%, according to the survey.

Of the companies experiencing attacks, 70% experienced sensitive data theft - an increase of 7 percentage points from the previous year. Similarly, 61% of companies experienced their digital communication eavesdropping - up 4 percentage points from the previous year.

"Our response to this growing threat is to strengthen cooperation with our partners, detect and respond quickly to attacks, and continue to adapt our defense mechanisms," said Sinan Selen, president of the Federal Office for Constitus Protection.