Microsoft customers, for example, are attacked by cyber criminals and state hackers more than 600 million times every single day. The intensity of cyber attacks continues to increase. A study shows that Germany, for example, is only partially prepared to defend itself digitally.
In order to reduce the very high number of cyber attacks, there must be an effective deterrent, which can be achieved in two ways: through effective defense against hacker attacks and also government action to consistently pursue malicious behavior and hold the actors accountable. At Microsoft, protecting customers and the digital ecosystem is a top priority in order to further reduce intrusion attempts. The new figures cited by Microsoft come from the Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2024.
Number of cyber attacks is steadily increasing
🔎 The Microsoft Digital Defense Report 2024 shows the most attacked areas worldwide (Image: Microsoft).
The number of ransomware attacks has increased by 2,75 times year-on-year. Notably, however, the number of attacks that actually resulted in encryption has decreased by three times. The most common initial "door-opening methods" remain social engineering - particularly email phishing, SMS phishing and voice phishing - as well as identity theft and exploiting vulnerabilities in software or unpatched operating systems. Ransomware is increasingly being used by state hackers from North Korea and Iran to generate money for their country by extorting victims.
Hackers are increasingly using generative AI
Over the past year, both criminal gangs and state hackers have begun to use AI applications, at least experimentally, to more effectively deceive their victims. Actors with ties to China have increasingly relied on AI-generated imagery in influence operations, while actors with ties to Russia have primarily used AI-generated audio content across different media.
The German state is only “limitedly prepared to defend itself” digitally
Germany is only partially prepared to defend itself digitally: In politics and administration, 79 percent of decision-makers say they have a low level of preparedness to defend themselves against cyber attacks, and one in four say their organization has "no" preparedness at all. These are examples from a representative survey commissioned by Microsoft, in which decision-makers in public administration as well as the general public were asked about their assessment of the threat posed by cyber attacks. The representative survey was conducted by Civey in September 2024, with a sample of 5.000 people for the general population and 500 for decision-makers in politics and administration.
All groups in society see a high risk of damage from cyber attacks. In public, 88 percent speak of a high or very high threat to the state and economy from cyber attacks. Among decision-makers in politics and administration, more than 62 percent of respondents say that their organization must assume a high or very high threat level.
All decision-makers in favor: More priority for cyber security
Whether federal, state or local: 82 percent of decision-makers in politics and administration expect that the issue of cyber security will have a higher priority in the coming year. Three quarters of those surveyed believe that an expansion of cooperation between the private sector and state institutions is necessary in order to increase defense readiness. The assessment that German authorities lack cyber defense readiness is similarly high at all levels - federal, state and local.
Ralf Wigand, National Security Officer at Microsoft Germany, says: "This survey confirms what security experts have been observing for a long time: Germany is unfortunately only partially prepared for digital defense. It is encouraging that both the economy and public administrations want to invest more in their cyber security in the coming year, but everyone must be aware that hackers - whether state or criminal - are also investing heavily themselves, for example in new technologies such as artificial intelligence. The state and the economy urgently need to work more closely together to ensure Germany's digital defense readiness."
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About Microsoft Germany Microsoft Deutschland GmbH was founded in 1983 as the German subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation (Redmond, USA). Microsoft is committed to empowering every person and company in the world to achieve more. This challenge can only be mastered together, which is why diversity and inclusion have been firmly anchored in the corporate culture from the very beginning. As the world's leading manufacturer of productive software solutions and modern services in the age of intelligent cloud and intelligent edge, as well as a developer of innovative hardware, Microsoft sees itself as a partner to its customers to help them benefit from the digital transformation. Security and data protection have top priority when developing solutions. As the world's largest contributor, Microsoft is driving open source technology through its leading developer platform GitHub. With LinkedIn, the largest career network, Microsoft promotes professional networking worldwide.