German firms report rising cyber threat from foreign intelligence services, study shows
Bitkom said 62% of firms blamed organised crime, while 80% expect more AI-driven attacks and only 43% feel well prepared.
- 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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Cyberattacks, espionage, sabotage - German companies are getting more and more under pressure. How could they be better protected? Tips are given in the Bitkom Business Protection Study.
Cyber attacks on German companies are increasing dramatically. More and more intelligence agencies from China and Russia are behind this. A trend is particularly alarming.
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.
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