The BKA - Federal Criminal Police Office - has published the Federal Situation Report Cybercrime 2021. In it, the BKA recorded a new high in terms of cyber crimes. The clear-up rate of the attacks is less than 30 percent - the damage caused by the attacks is enormous at over 220 billion euros.
The number of recorded cyber crimes reached a new high in 2021. The police crime statistics (PKS) recorded 146.363 offenses in the area of cybercrime, which corresponds to an increase of more than twelve percent compared to the previous year. This emerges from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) published today the Federal Situation Report Cybercrime 2021. The increase in importance of cyber crime, which has already been observed in recent years, is thus continuing. The development is an expression of the progressive shift of crime into the digital space. In particular, the increasing interlocking of international supply chains and the further acceleration of digitization, including as a result of the corona pandemic, create a large number of new opportunities for cyber criminals.
Almost 150.000 offenses in 2021
At 29,3 percent, the clear-up rate remained at a low level. The reasons for this include increased anonymity on the Internet and the complex investigation of perpetrators who are often abroad. The phenomenon of cybercrime continues to be characterized by an above-average number of unreported cases, since criminal offenses very often go unreported.
In particular, Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine and the hybrid forms of attack used as well as the activities of the cyber actors involved show the wide range of cyber attacks that can also have an impact beyond the immediate parties to the conflict. These developments have the potential to serve as another catalyst for cybercrime.
29,3 percent clearance rate - 223 billion damage
Cybercrime continues to be one of the phenomenon areas with the highest damage potential in Germany. According to the Economic Protection Report 2021, the cybercrime damage in Germany calculated by the Bitkom eV industry association amounted to 223,5 billion euros a year and is therefore more than twice as high as in 2019. In the area of ransomware alone, the annual damage has increased to 24,3 billion euros almost quintupled since the last survey.
“The national situation report shows that the threat level from cybercrime is still very high. In addition to the purely monetary damage, ransomware attacks on companies, critical infrastructures and public administration or entire supply chains also impaired the functioning of the community at home and abroad. In the area of ransomware in particular, the threat potential has increased significantly again in 2021," said BKA Vice President Martina Link.
DDoS attacks are increasing and more complex
A qualitative and quantitative increase was also recorded in DDoS attacks in 2021. In particular, their complexity continues to increase. DDoS aims to overload websites, servers and networks and thus cause the services to be unavailable. A variety of different industries have been affected by this type of cyber attack. In addition to financial service providers, hosting providers, learning and vaccination portals, the focus last year was also on public institutions and – primarily in the run-up to Christmas – e-commerce.
The year 2021 once again illustrated the increasing adaptability of cybercrime actors. They act with increasing professionalism and with a high degree of division of labor according to the "Crime-as-a-Service" model. Nevertheless, the investigating authorities have regularly succeeded in striking against crime in cyberspace in the past year. Prominent examples are the takedown of the Emotet infrastructure, the VPN service provider vpnlab.net and the important Darknet marketplace Hydra Market.
BKA and police stand by companies
By filing a criminal complaint at an early stage, law enforcement authorities can take quick and effective action against criminal cyber groups. With specialized departments and 24/7 on-call service, the Federal Criminal Police Office and the state police are available to affected companies and institutions at any time and with comprehensive expertise.
A close and trusting cooperation between law enforcement agencies and private companies - also in the run-up to an actual attack - is a clear success factor for effective measures to contain cybercrime.
"Ultimately, combating cybercrime can only succeed if we work together: in the triad of risk-repellent and repressive measures, preventive IT security precautions and adequate sensitization of citizens and companies with regard to the dangers and entry vectors of cybercrime," concludes Martina Link.
The Federal Criminal Police Office 2021 situation report is available as a freely downloadable PDF on the BKA website.
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