German firms report a rising wave of cyberattacks linked to foreign intelligence services, with 37% attributing at least one incident in the last year to a foreign actor, up from 28% a year earlier and 7% in 2023.

Bitkom notes organized crime remains the main source of attacks at 62%, but borders between criminals and state actors are blurring as states may leverage criminal networks.

Annual losses from data theft, espionage and sabotage are estimated at €211 billion, while security spending holds steady at 18% of the average IT budget per company.

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Bitkom President warns AI can enable malicious code and autonomous attacks, but also enhances detection and prevention, creating a defense opportunity.

The overarching message is that the cyber threat landscape is evolving rapidly, with AI-enabled social engineering, more sophisticated attackers, and policy work to empower defense amid budget and dependency challenges.

Experts stress early detection, securing evidence, rapid sharing with authorities, and embedding cybersecurity in digital strategy as key defenses against espionage and sabotage.

New reforms to the German combined intelligence law would grant greater powers to the BND and BfV, intended to deter and disrupt attacker infrastructure and limit damage rather than merely expand surveillance.

Verfassungsschutz president urges stronger, multi-layered defenses, faster patch management, and proactive measures, not just reactive responses, amid high cyber threat levels.

Cross-organizational sharing of indicators and evidence can help defenders connect disparate incidents and improve threat intelligence.

Three major vulnerabilities—software misconfigurations, insufficient attack-detection preparation, and weak identity and access management—facilitate breaches.

Selen rejects claims that security gaps are systematically exploited rather than reported and calls for targeted actions to neutralize attacker infrastructure, stressing cooperation among agencies, companies, and international partners.