Cyberattacks from Russia, China, and North Korea targeting Bavarian government agencies, critical infrastructure, and companies keep increasing, according to the state government. When it comes to politically motivated attacks, the three states are clearly the main culprits, said Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann in Munich.
An unprecedented threat level
The hybrid threat from espionage, sabotage, disinformation, and cyberattacks has reached an unprecedented level, Herrmann said when presenting this year's cybersecurity situation report. "Foreign intelligence services want to gather information, exert influence, or carry out sabotage through this." Bavarian police recorded a total of 49,468 cases of cybercrime last year, a slight increase of 1.7 percent over the previous year. Herrmann doesn't expect a decline this year: "We're more likely looking at a further increase." The spectrum ranges from online fraud, extortion, and data theft to the politically motivated cases mentioned, with authorities and private cybersecurity providers assuming a high number of unreported cases.
A marked rise in security-relevant incidents
Bavaria's IT security agency handled 6,000 security-relevant incidents last year, according to Finance Minister Albert Füracker, cases in which state agencies, municipalities, or critical infrastructure were targeted, a ten percent increase. "The attacks have become noticeably faster and more complex," Füracker said.
Most perpetrators are based abroad
How many of the cases recorded by police ultimately lead to identified and prosecuted perpetrators is nearly impossible to determine. Since 2015, a central cybercrime unit at the Bamberg public prosecutor's office has handled the major cases; otherwise, the criminal justice system keeps no separate statistics on cybercrime. Attacks from the internet are instead classified under the relevant offense, such as fraud or extortion, without distinguishing between online attacks and conventionally operating perpetrators. According to the cybersecurity report, 72 percent of perpetrators are based abroad. "That's exactly why it's so important that we cooperate closely at both the national and international level with partners like Interpol, Eurojust, Europol, and intelligence services," said Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich.