The Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2022 shows: Cyber attacks are also the number one risk for German companies - even before the pandemic, the economic downturn and the shortage of skilled workers. A quarter of the IT budget of German companies now goes to cyber security.
In addition, almost half (48%) of the companies surveyed worldwide now state that they were affected by at least one cyber attack in the last year, compared to five percentage points lower the year before. In Germany, the level remains high at 46 percent, as in the previous year. As the threat situation became increasingly difficult to assess, the number of "cyber experts" fell to 3 percent.
Enterprises: 48 percent experienced a cyber attack
The results of the Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2022 are based on an international survey of 5.181 company decision-makers from Germany, the USA, Great Britain, France, Spain, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands. For the sixth time in a row, the market research institute Forrester Consulting, on behalf of the specialist insurer Hiscox, surveyed company representatives on how to deal with and protect against cyber attacks.
Cyber attacks as an expensive risk for companies
In seven of the eight countries surveyed, companies see themselves as most threatened by cyber attacks. In Germany, respondents believe that the larger number of employees who work from home (32%) is one of the main reasons for the increased cyber risk. In addition, a company's remote access service (VPN) is often cited as a gateway for hackers (32%). The threat emanating from cyber attacks is also reflected in the development of Hiscox claims figures. In addition to the absolute numbers of claims, the claims ratio per insurance policy has also increased sharply on average by a little more than half (55%).
Cyber damage on average at just under 19.000 euros
Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2022 (Image: Hiscox).
Since hackers are becoming more and more professional, networked and international in their work, cyber attacks are increasing both in frequency and in the amount of damage – the latter are particularly high in this country. If you look at the financial consequences of a cyber attack, the average total cyber damage costs for Germany amount to 18.712 euros - this puts Germany in first place in an international comparison (average 15.255 euros).
Investments in cyber security continue to grow
The significant increase in cyber security investments compared to the previous year proves that cyber security is becoming increasingly important. In Germany, cyber security accounts for a quarter of the total IT budget (24%). This means an increase of 4 percentage points compared to 2021. A steady increase in investments in cyber security can also be observed internationally. These have grown by 2019 percent since 250.
Cyber insurance increasingly in demand
One of the most important investments in an organization's cyber security strategy is cyber insurance. Germany is at the forefront internationally here - 67 percent of the companies surveyed are already insured against cyber attacks - internationally this value is 3 percent less. Only 11 percent of German respondents state that they neither have cyber protection nor plan to take out insurance in the future. In 2020, a quarter of German companies were still uninsured.
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