Trending Topics Cybersecurity – October 2024

The cyber security situation is escalating further, particularly in the area of DDoS attacks on public institutions. In Belgium, a wave of DDoS attacks led to the outage of numerous government and public authority websites. Meanwhile, the Schwarz Group has reported a massive increase in cyberattacks since the start of the war in Ukraine – the number of attacks recorded daily has increased a hundredfold from 3,500 to 350,000. These trends underline the need for comprehensive protective measures, especially since, according to a survey, 79% of decision-makers in politics and public administration say they have only a low level of preparedness.

The existential threat posed by cyberattacks is illustrated by the example of Schumag AG, which had to file for insolvency due to ongoing financial difficulties and the consequences of a devastating cyberattack.

More money for protective measures and security projects

In response to cyber risks, the majority of German companies are planning to increase investment in protective measures over the next one to two years. According to a survey by the digital association Bitkom, total investment is expected to reach 11.2 billion euros in the current year. In addition, various initiatives are being implemented to improve cyber security, including a pilot project in Saxony-Anhalt to strengthen IT security in municipal administrations and the construction of a new research campus for cyber security and data protection in Bochum.

Meanwhile, Prof. Dr. Dennis-Kenji Kipker emphasizes the need for greater digital sovereignty in the EU. The IT law expert argues that Europe should become more independent of foreign IT providers in order to minimize political, economic and legal risks – especially against the backdrop of legal provisions such as the US CLOUD Act.

The Top IT Security Topics in October:

Intensified DDoS threat situation calls for strategic responses

The cyber security situation has worsened dramatically in recent months. In the update for Q3 2024, you can find out more about the latest developments based on data from the Myra Security Operations Center (SOC). In particular, the increase in DDoS attacks on public institutions underlines the urgency of holistic protection measures.

Alarming numbers: Large companies are massively affected by cyber incidents

According to a recent Deloitte study, 97 percent of large companies surveyed in the DACH region have reported at least one cyber incident in the past year, with almost all of them suffering significant negative consequences such as loss of reputation, loss of revenue and a slump in share prices. In response, 67% of companies plan to increase their cyber security spending in the next one to two years, but only just under half have a comprehensive strategic cyber security plan in place.

Survey: Politics and administration only partially prepared to defend against cyber threats

The majority of decision-makers in politics and administration still have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to cyber defense. 79 percent attest to having only a low level of preparedness. A quarter even admit to having “no” preparedness at all. This is the result of a survey conducted by Civey on behalf of Microsoft in September 2024.

Investments in cyber security reach record high

German companies and authorities will spend more than 10 billion euros on cyber security for the first time this year. According to the digital association Bitkom, investments in Germany will increase by 13.8% to 11.2 billion euros. According to figures from market research institute IDC, the global IT security market is expected to grow by 12.1% to 222.6 billion euros.

State actors capture contact details of all Dutch police employees

Attackers have gained access to the contact details of all 65,000 employees of the Dutch police force in a cyber attack on a police computer. According to the Dutch Ministry of Justice, the names, email addresses and positions of the “entire organization” were stolen. A foreign state was “very probably” responsible for the attack.

Hiscox: German companies increasingly targeted by criminals

The Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report 2024 shows a massive increase in cyber attacks on German companies: 60% of respondents stated that they had been attacked more frequently in 2024 than in the previous year. According to the survey, DDoS attacks in particular were on the rise. On average, German companies were attacked 49 times by cyber criminals within 12 months – with serious consequences: 46% lost customers, 47% had difficulties acquiring new customers and a quarter incurred costs of over 500,000 euros.

Delta Air Lines sues CrowdStrike over serious IT malfunction

US airline Delta Air Lines has filed a lawsuit against cybersecurity service provider CrowdStrike after a faulty software update in July led to numerous flight disruptions and over 500 million dollars in damages. While Delta blames CrowdStrike for delivering “untested and faulty updates”, the cybersecurity company rejects the allegations and accuses Delta of trying to distract from its own outdated IT infrastructure.

Cyber attack drives Schumag AG into insolvency

Schumag AG, a long-established precision engineering company, has filed for restructuring under self-administration due to ongoing financial difficulties and the consequences of a devastating cyber attack. Business operations will continue despite the insolvency, the wages and salaries of the approximately 450 employees are secured through the insolvency substitute benefits and the shareholders have pledged their support for the restructuring.

Cyber attack paralyzes Casio: Massive delivery problems and data loss

The Japanese electronics company Casio is struggling with considerable delays in product deliveries and repairs following a cyber attack on October 5. The attackers claim to have stolen 204.9 GB of sensitive company data during the attack, including employee data, patent information and confidential documents. The incident forced Casio to shut down its servers to contain the ransomware.

350,000 cyberattacks a day: Schwarz Group fends off flood of attacks  

The Schwarz Group, which also includes Lidl and Kaufland, has recorded a massive increase in cyberattacks from 3,500 to 350,000 per day since the start of the war in Ukraine. According to the company, most of the attacks originate from Russia.

DDoS attack paralyzes government websites in Belgium

A wave of DDoS attacks in Belgium has led to the outage of numerous government and public authority websites. According to the Belgian Center for Cybersecurity, the websites of the Chamber of Deputies, the Walloon government, the city of Antwerp and the province of Limburg were among those affected. The “NoName” group, which apparently wanted to disrupt the provincial and local elections in Belgium, is presumably behind the attacks.

Administration in Saxony-Anhalt only able to work to a limited extent after cyber attack

Due to a cyberattack, the administration of the Elbe-Heide municipality in Saxony-Anhalt was forced to take all systems offline as a precautionary measure. This meant that digital processes were no longer possible, so employees had to resort to pen and paper. The electronic accessibility of the offices was also restricted.

Cyberattack hits US water utility: American Water shuts down online services

American Water, the largest publicly traded water and wastewater utility in the US, has been forced to shut down some of its systems, including its online customer portal MyWater and billing services, following a cyberattack. The company, which serves more than 14 million people in 14 states and 18 military installations, has hired outside cybersecurity firms to contain and investigate the incident – to the best of knowledge, no water or wastewater facilities were directly affected by the attack.

EU Commission specifies NIS 2 requirements

The EU Commission has defined various technical and methodological requirements for digital service providers in an initial implementing regulation to specify the NIS 2 requirements. Among other things, the implementing regulation explains when security incidents are considered significant for the various service providers. For example, this is the case for managed service providers as soon as a service is down for longer than 30 minutes or data is compromised in terms of integrity, confidentiality or authenticity as a result of an attack.

State of NRW funds construction of new research facility for cyber security and data protection

A new research campus for cyber security and data protection is being built on the former Opel factory site in Bochum. Part of this will be the new building of the Max Planck Institute for Security and Privacy, as announced by the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of Science. From 2027, basic research will be carried out on the new campus in order to detect and ward off attacks at an earlier stage. The state is funding the construction with around 50 million euros.

Pilot project: Saxony-Anhalt wants to improve IT security in municipalities

The state of Saxony-Anhalt has launched a pilot project called “SicherKommunal in Sachsen-Anhalt” to strengthen IT security in the administrations of districts, cities and municipalities. The state has made 170,000 euros available for this purpose, as announced by the State Ministry for Infrastructure and Digital Affairs. The project is being launched in the city of Halberstadt, the Salzland district and the municipality of Arneburg-Goldbeck.

Unannounced security test: Bundestag examines how MPs deal with phishing emails

As part of an unannounced penetration test, MPs and staff from all parliamentary groups in the German Bundestag have received targeted phishing emails. The test messages purported to come from the Bundestag administration and contained a link to a website that asked for login details. Many recipients forwarded the suspicious emails to a report office as intended, but some apparently also fell for the phishing attempt.

Europe's digital sovereignty: opportunities and challenges

Prof. Dr. Dennis-Kenji Kipker, Scientific Director of the cyberintelligence.institute and IT law expert on the Myra Advisory Board, emphasizes the need for greater digital sovereignty in the EU. He argues that Europe should become more independent of foreign IT providers to minimize political, economic and legal risks, especially in view of the weaknesses of US data protection and the uncertainties caused by the legal provisions of the CLOUD Act.