Overview
- Germany’s federal cybercrime report, released Tuesday, logged about 334,000 cases in 2025 and put the economic damage at roughly €202.4 billion.
- Ransomware stayed severe with 1,041 reported attacks in 2025, only 7% of victims paying, average payments near $456,300, and most cases striking small and mid-sized firms.
- Overload attacks that knock services offline, known as DDoS, increased, and police recorded a 224% surge in politically driven hacktivist disruptions tied to Germany’s support for Ukraine.
- Officials warned that new AI tools, including Anthropic’s restricted “Claude Mythos,” can spot software flaws and spin up attack code fast, which forces quicker patching and pushed BaFin to expand its cyber unit.
- Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said he will take an active cyber defence bill to the cabinet in May to let agencies disrupt hostile systems, while experts and opposition figures questioned the legal risks and likely payoff.