Unterföhring (dpa) - Criminal hackers remain the biggest concern for companies around the world, according to Allianz. In the latest edition of the annual international "Risk Barometer" from industrial and corporate insurer Allianz Commercial, cyber attacks are once again in first place. Business interruption follows in second place - both categories are closely linked, as hacker attacks with blackmail software often paralyze operations. The company published the report in Munich on Tuesday.

Natural disasters are in third place this year and have obviously become more important in the minds of the 3069 international managers and experts surveyed. A year ago, floods, storms, earthquakes and other natural events ranked sixth.

Last fall, Allianz Commercial surveyed managers, security specialists, insurance brokers and other risk experts from 92 countries, both from external companies and associations and from within the company. More than a third - a total of 1,340 - of the participants work for large companies with an annual turnover of more than half a billion dollars.

Hackers resort to AI

According to the "Risk Barometer", criminal hackers are also taking advantage of language models driven by artificial intelligence, which have been causing an international sensation since the public launch of ChatGTP in the fall of 2022. Cybercriminals are using AI applications for larger and faster attacks with blackmail software (ransomware), for programming new malware and for less easily recognizable phishing emails and forgeries, among other things.

"However, the increase in ransomware attacks in 2023 was enormous," said Jens Krickhahn, Head of Cyber at Allianz Commercial. In the first half of the year alone, the number of claims increased by more than half. The authors of the "Risk Barometer" assume that the wave of cybercrime will continue in 2024.

Fear of changes to laws and regulations is increasing.

Germany deviates somewhat from the international mood: it was not natural disasters that landed in third place among the 454 managers and experts surveyed in Germany, but changes to laws and regulations. And a risk not previously in the top ten in Germany has moved up to ninth place: "Political risks and violence are new in the top ten here in Germany, which was not the case last year," said Michael Furtschegger, Regional Head of Allianz Commercial for Germany and Switzerland.