Berlin (dpa) - Almost all internet users in Germany fear falling victim to an attack by cyber criminals. In a survey conducted by the digital association Bitkom, 93 percent of respondents said that they feel threatened on the Internet. Bitkom Research surveyed 1018 internet users aged 16 and over in Germany. According to Bitkom, the survey is representative of this group.

The German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) also presented data from a representative opinion poll on cyber security on Monday, for which 3012 people aged 16 and over were interviewed across Germany. According to the survey, one in four people have already personally experienced cybercrime. The respondents in the BSI study are also very concerned about the increasing use of artificial intelligence (AI): among other things, they fear possible forgery and manipulation of documents and media (65%) as well as attacks by cyber criminals (60%) and see the security of their personal data (58%) at risk.

The fears at a glance - identity theft in 2nd place

In the Bitkom survey, it was primarily members of organized crime (87%) who were suspected of being the target group. A good third (35%) feared attacks from individuals, 24% from government agencies such as intelligence services and 5% from companies.

When asked in the Bitkom survey from which countries the attacks are launched, Russia (81%), China (75%) and North Korea (53%) are in the lead. When it comes to attacks, users primarily fear that their own computer or smartphone will be infected with malware such as viruses or ransomware (90%). In a ransomware attack, the perpetrators encrypt their victims' data and attempt to extort a ransom. The hackers often also threaten to publish confidential data on the internet that was previously captured in the attack.

The fear of ransomware is followed by the fear of identity theft (62%) and the theft of passwords (55%). Four out of ten respondents feel threatened by online banking fraud (42%) and online shopping or online auctions (39%). Respondents see a similar level of threat from insults or bullying (41%). This is followed by hate speech (29%) and sexual harassment online (18%).

Appropriate protective measures - who is responsible?

Most people in Germany take personal responsibility for protecting themselves against potential online attacks. Three quarters of respondents (74%) said that they themselves were primarily responsible for their own security on the Internet. 16 percent see the main responsibility as lying with the state and 7 percent with industry, for example Internet providers or manufacturers of software and hardware.

In order to protect themselves against attacks from the Internet, the respondents in the BSI's cyber security monitor rely on four measures on average: most frequently on an up-to-date virus protection program, secure passwords, an up-to-date firewall and two-factor authentication (2FA). This involves adding a second security factor such as a hardware key or SMS transaction number to a password.