Managers and security experts around the world see cyber attacks as the greatest threat to companies. In the 'Risk Barometer' published on Tuesday by the industrial insurer AGCS, which is part of Allianz, criminal hackers and their activities are in first place. Business interruptions, natural disasters and pandemics follow in second to fourth place.

The company surveyed a total of 2650 experts in 89 countries last fall. These included over 1200 managers from large companies with an annual turnover of more than 500 million dollars. Allianz's own experts also took part in the survey. Among the 351 participants in Germany, the top two places were reversed: business interruption came in first place ahead of cyber attacks.

Ransomware attacks on the rise

However, the two main risks of cyber attacks and business interruption are often linked, as AGCS manager Jens Krickhahn explained. The number of ransomware attacks has increased significantly in recent years. Hackers use malicious encryption software to paralyze computer networks and then extort large sums of money to unlock them.

Even very good IT security precautions do not provide one hundred percent protection against hacker attacks: "Companies invest a lot of money in the further development of IT security, but we still find that attackers can get through and cause enormous damage to companies in some cases," said Krickhahn.

Lucrativeness: cybercrime will replace drug trafficking

The assessment of the experts surveyed by Allianz is in line with other analyses on the subject of cybercrime. For example, the US company Cybersecurity Ventures, which is often quoted in the IT industry, estimates that the global damage caused by cybercrime will reach 6 trillion dollars in 2021. By 2025, this figure could rise to 10.5 trillion dollars. This immense sum includes data theft and destruction, financial crime, loss of productivity, theft of intellectual property and other offenses, as well as the cost of repairing the damage.

By the middle of the decade, this would be higher profits than the global drug trade and a higher sum than the gross domestic products of all countries with the exception of the USA and China, according to an assessment of the trends in criminal cyber business published by the US company at the turn of the year.

"No company or authority is safe from cyber attacks these days," says Sebastian Artz, Head of Cyber and Information Security at the IT industry association Bitkom. "It is therefore crucial to be prepared for emergencies and to proactively address the issue of cyber security. Ransomware in particular will continue to be a hot topic in 2022."

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Of the various forms of cybercrime, extortion is the fastest growing offense. According to estimates by Cybersecurity Ventures, criminal gangs generated 20 billion dollars worldwide in this way in 2021. Bitkom cyber expert Artz says that SMEs in particular are a lucrative target in the eyes of cyber criminals, "as they tend to operate under the radar of the law enforcement authorities as well as having good prospects of success." In addition to a lack of understanding of their own attractiveness as a company for cyber criminals, there is also a lack of personnel and resources.

As a rule, insurance against hacker attacks can only be taken out by a company that has already taken extensive IT security precautions, as otherwise the risk is too great for the insurer. Insurers have also recognized "that a certain level of IT security must be present in the company before cyber insurance can even be taken out," says Sebastian Artz. "So once again, the issue of cyber security needs to be put more firmly on the agenda."

Many insurance applications are rejected

AGCS also continues to reject many insurance applications from companies in the cyber sector - according to Krickhahn, around half, even though the rejection rate used to be even higher.

But it's not just insurance companies that are in demand. Bitkom President Achim Berg is calling on the new German government to take better precautions against cyber attacks, including "sufficient financial, material and personnel resources for the German Armed Forces", as the head of the association demanded last week. "It is no longer a future scenario that states will fight each other on the internet. State-led hacker attacks have been a reality for years."