Since 2015, the digital association Bitkom has been conducting an annual study to examine the state of economic protection in the German economy. With this study, Bitkom has developed a tool that provides comprehensive insights into cyber attacks on the German economy. Which companies are affected by espionage, sabotage and data theft? Who are the alleged perpetrators? And how much financial damage has been done to the German economy?
The 2025 Economic Protection Study shows that the number of attacks on the German economy has continued to rise. 87% of companies were affected by data theft, espionage or sabotage in the past twelve months, compared to 81% in the previous year. The damage caused now amounts to £289.2 billion – an increase of around 8%. Attacks are particularly often traced back to Russia and China, with 46% of the companies affected reporting incidents from these countries. At the same time, attacks by foreign intelligence services are increasingly targeting German companies. More and more companies are cooperating with the authorities in investigations, which significantly increases the success rate in identifying perpetrators.
Below you will find the study reports from previous years.
