According to a study, the number of cyber attacks on companies rose significantly during the Corona period. The ransom demands after successful attacks are also higher than in the past.
The Corona era has not only given the home office a powerful boost, but also criminal hackers who target companies. According to a study by the Criminological Research Institute of Lower Saxony (KFN), the risk for companies of being targeted by cyber criminals has increased significantly in the past year. “Home office and the use of private hardware and software increase the risk of phishing and attacks with malware,” explains the KFN.
According to the study, six out of ten companies report that they have been the target of a cyber attack at least once within a year. A significant increase. Because: In a pre-Corona survey in 2019, only 50 percent of these companies and 40 percent of all companies surveyed were affected. In the first round, 5,000 companies were surveyed, 635 of which were surveyed again between July and September 2020.
More phishing, higher ransom demands
The increasing number of attacks is mainly due to increased phishing attacks. Criminals try to coax passwords or other sensitive data from employees with forged emails – it was the most common form of cyberattacks identified. The importance of malware, on the other hand, stagnated according to the study.
The study shows that not only is the number of companies affected increasing, but that they are also being attacked more frequently. In addition, after successful attacks, criminals also demand more ransom than before. While company employees reported average ransom demands of 4800 euros in the first survey, the average was now 14,400 euros. The range extends from 300 euros to one million euros, taking into account that both small companies with a dozen employees and large companies with many hundreds of employees were surveyed.
High number of unreported cases
In any case, the number of unreported cases of cyber attacks is significantly higher than the figures from official crime statistics. Because not even every tenth company (8.5 percent) that has been the victim of a cyber attack reports this to the law enforcement authorities, as the KFN survey showed.
IT security measures such as firewalls, anti-virus software and regular security updates naturally play a role in combating and thwarting cyber attacks. The authors of the study write that the human factor is also central: “First of all, the majority of the reported cyberattacks are phishing attacks aimed at deceiving IT users, for example to obtain sensitive information.” On the other hand, the majority of attacks are also discovered by company employees, often even without the involvement of technical measures.
And finally, many technical and organizational IT security measures could only have an effect if they are used correctly, according to the study. “In particular, guidelines on IT security must be lived within the company, exercises and simulations can be used to increase the awareness and responsiveness of employees to cyber attacks and sensible technical measures such as encryption must be used – provided that they can be used well.”
Those:
Jane Stock is a technology author, who has written for 24 Hours World. She writes about the latest in technology news and trends, and is always on the lookout for new and innovative ways to improve his audience’s experience.
