Attacks from the network are increasing: The current situation report by the Federal Criminal Police Office speaks of a 12 percent increase in recorded cyber crimes in 2021.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin A hacker attack continues to occupy the German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (IHK). The e-mail servers of the business organizations have been disconnected for almost 14 days. In the meantime, at least some of the websites of the 79 IHKs can be accessed again with restrictions.
The public prosecutor’s office in Cologne is now investigating against unknown persons. “Computer sabotage” is the suspicion, said a spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office. The Criminal Code understands this as a disruption of data processing.
The public prosecutor’s office is not currently investigating for extortion. Apparently, the perpetrators have not yet demanded a ransom. The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) and the operator of the IT system of the responsible company for information processing (GfI) did not want to comment on the details of the attack when asked by the Handelsblatt.
The team of specialists at the Cologne public prosecutor’s office in North Rhine-Westphalia is now trying to find out where the attacker or attackers came from based on the hackers’ paths in the system.
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However, it is unlikely that the perpetrator will be certain at the end of the investigation. This is also due to the fact that they are often based abroad and the trail is quickly lost there or the German authorities do not receive sufficient support from their international colleagues. According to statistics from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), only 30 percent of cyber crimes are ever solved.
Tens of thousands of cyberattacks a year
In recent years, the number of hacker attacks has continued to rise. Companies are often the target. The frozen food producer and major caterer Apetito suffered one of the last major public attacks in Germany in June. The company temporarily had no access to its servers. Apetito supplies schools, daycare centers, retirement homes, clinics and canteens.
>>Read here: Cyber security: how the federal government wants to upgrade the German cyber defence
According to a report by the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), the IT security situation in Germany is “tense to critical”. The current situation report by the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) speaks of a 12 percent increase in recorded cyber crimes in 2021. In total, the authorities recorded 124,137 cases last year.
In particular, the threat of so-called ransomware has “increased significantly”. The perpetrators smuggle malware onto the computer, which either locks it completely or encrypts the data stored on it. The criminals often demand a ransom so that those affected can regain access. The BKA estimates the damage caused by this method alone at 24.3 billion euros in 2021.
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