MUNICH, April 27 — The vast majority of companies in Germany and many other countries fear a cyber attack, according to a company survey conducted by reinsurer Munich Re, reported dpa news.
The survey gathered data from businesses in 15 countries. 72 per cent of the participating managing directors and board members responded that they are worried or very worried about possible cyber attacks, the Munich-based DAX-listed company announced on Friday.
More than half admitted that their respective companies had already been attacked by cyber criminals in the past. Data theft came first, followed by online fraud and blackmail using encryption software.
In December, Munich Re had a total of 7,500 managers and employees surveyed by the statistics company Statista; almost 40 per cent of the participants were “C-level” managers in the upper echelons of their respective companies.
However, not all managers in all countries were equally concerned: in Sweden, the figure was only 35 per cent, compared to 90 per cent in Spain. In Germany, the figure was just under 2 per cent at 65 per cent, roughly comparable to the US, UK or Japan.
An even larger majority of 87 per cent believe that their own company is inadequately protected against cyber attacks.
In this respect, the differences from country to country were less pronounced: In Germany and China at the top of the table, 95 per cent of survey respondents affirmed this, while in Italy at the lower end it was still 80 per cent.
Munich Re has a vested interest in the topic, as the Group offers insurance against cyberattacks and expects the global premium income of the insurance industry in the cyber sector to double in the coming years: from US$14 billion in 2023 to US$29 billion in 2029.
However, the authors also mentioned in the report that a number of companies have not taken out cyber insurance due to high costs or other reasons.
— Bernama
