The main aim of the Bitkom study was to determine the overall damage to the German economy caused by industrial espionage, sabotage and data theft. According to conservative calculations, the damage amounts to around 51 billion euros per year. Almost a quarter of this sum is attributable to lost sales due to counterfeiting. This is followed by patent infringements and lost sales due to the loss of competitive advantages. Another major item is the cost of theft of ICT equipment and expenses incurred due to the failure of IT systems or disruption to operational processes. A soft factor with great weight is the damage to image that occurs after security incidents. According to Bitkom, the starting point for espionage, sabotage and data theft is usually ...