The most important results at a glance:
In the last three years, 4 per cent of SMEs and 5 per cent of the population have been the target of a cyberattack. Extrapolated, this affects around 24,000 companies. Financial losses were incurred by 73 per cent of the SMEs affected.
40 per cent of SMEs do not yet have a defined emergency plan for dealing with cyber incidents. In addition, more than half of SMEs classify the risk of serious attacks as low, which indicates an underestimated threat potential.
A third of respondents use the same passwords for multiple services and security updates are often delayed. Despite these weaknesses, 50 per cent of respondents rate their cyber security as high, which indicates a distorted self-assessment.
For SMEs: Training, security concepts and tools such as password managers can strengthen cyber security.
For the general public: Raising awareness and easily accessible information promote the safe use of digital technologies.
Initiatives for greater cyber security: The ITSec4KMU association offers SMEs important information on its platform and organises awareness-raising events. A training programme is also available for employees.
The study emphasises that cooperation between companies, IT service providers and politicians is an important basis for increased digital security. SMEs and private households can further increase their resilience with small, targeted steps.
To the media release (in German)
Translated with DeepL