German companies face rising cyberattacks from foreign intelligence

German companies are facing a significant rise in cyberattacks, industrial espionage, and sabotage, with a growing involvement of foreign intelligence services. According to data from the IT association Bitkom, 37 percent of companies affected by such incidents attributed them to foreign intelligence services in the past year, up from 28 percent previously. China and Russia are identified as the primary actors, with 52 percent and 49 percent of affected companies respectively tracing attacks back to these nations.

Economic damages resulting from data theft and sabotage are estimated between 211 and 270.8 billion euros. These costs include operational downtime, legal disputes, and loss of competitive advantages. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution has noted increased targeting of critical infrastructure, including energy companies and the defense industry.

Artificial intelligence is acting as a 'booster' for these threats. Sinan Selen, President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, highlighted that attacks are increasing in both quantity and quality, noting instances of fully AI-generated operations. While companies are rapidly adopting AI agents to increase efficiency, many struggle with governance; nearly half of organizations lack central visibility over their AI systems, creating risks of uncontrolled 'agent proliferation'.