German SMEs underestimate risk of cyber-attacks: study

Small and Mid-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Germany continue to underestimate risks stemming from cyber-attacks, a study published on Wednesday by an association representing local companies warned.

According to the latest report by the "Deutschland sicher im Netz" (DsiN) association, which literally translates into "Germany safe on the web", many SMEs in the eurozone's largest economy still do not take any organizational precautions to avoid being affected by cyber-crime.

In a survey of SME executives conducted by DsiN, 85 percent of survey respondents in executive positions said that they recognized the importance of Information Technology (IT) security to their operations and 32 percent indicated that they considered their own company to be directly threatened by cyber-attacks. The report warned, however, that aspirations and reality were often far apart when it came to actually taking action to limit exposure to related risks.

DsiN deputy chairman Daniel Holz, who also serves as a director at the German software giant SAP, noted that many companies polled lacked concrete plans and did not provide suitable training to enhance cyber security. A fifth thereof did not even ensure make regular back-ups of sensitive data. While 64 percent of SME leaders indicated that they had taken personal responsibility for cyber security, their efforts in this regard were consequently often not sufficient.

The German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) recently estimated that the number of malware programs has increased again from 600 million to 800 million between July 1 2017 and May 31 2018 alone. Because of a generally growing number of attacks taking place, greater complexity of digital infrastructure and a generally larger volume of online data, the likelihood of successful cyber-crime being carried out by the perpetrators had also increased during the same period.

"Well-known malware software families are continuously altered, redeveloped and equipped with new malevolent functions", the BSI warned.

Commenting on the findings of the latest DsiN report on Wednesday, Holz argued that taking appropriate measures to improve the defenses of SMEs against cyber-attacks would ultimately also determine whether companies could continue to carry out their business sustainably. "We want to convince the decision-makers of the commercial value of IT-security", the software executive said.

Based in Berlin, the DsiN has set itself a goal of promoting a new IT security culture in Germany and improving awareness of the topic among domestic SMEs in particular.