Pro-Russian, anti-Israeli hackers pose biggest cybercrime threats in Germany
BERLIN, June 3 (Reuters) - Cybercrime in Germany rose to a record level last year, driven by hacker attacks from pro-Russian and anti-Israeli groups, the BKA Federal Crime Office reported on Tuesday as the government said it would boost countermeasures to combat it.
"Cybercrime is an increasing threat to our security," said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. "It is getting more aggressive but our counter-strategies are also becoming more professional," he said.
Some 131,391 cases of cybercrime took place in Germany last year and a further 201,877 cases were committed from abroad or an unknown location, a BKA report said.
The actors behind the hacker attacks on German targets were primarily either pro-Russian or anti-Israeli, said the BKA, adding targets were mostly public and federal institutions.
Ransomware, when criminals copy and encrypt data, is one of the main threats, said the BKA, with 950 companies and institutes reporting cases in 2024.
German digital association Bitkom said damage caused by cyberattacks here totalled 178.6 billion euros ($203.87 billion) last year, some 30.4 billion euros more than in the previous year.
Dobrindt said the government planned to extend the legal capabilities authorities could use to combat cybercrime and set higher security standards for companies.
($1 = 0.8760 euros)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
29 minutes ago
- BBC News
Why is Crystal Palace in Europa League a problem now?
There have been many instances of Premier League clubs - Brighton, Manchester City and Manchester United over the past two summers - being affected by this multi-club issue but not being booted out of Uefa competition, so why is it a particular problem for Crystal Palace?The major issue is it has not been dealt with before a deadline. Significantly, that was brought forward to 1 March this year from the end of the season because Uefa simply did not have the time and space to deal with all the potential cases before the respective early qualifying draws next week (clubs all over Europe are affected - not just in England).So, instead of knowing what the situation was, clubs had to second guess early in the season. It was fairly obvious Nottingham Forest had a good chance of making European football by that point, so they took preventative will never know what they would have done if they had been in Palace's position towards the end of February - about to play Millwall in the fifth round of a competition they had never previously won, knowing both Manchester clubs, Newcastle, Forest and Aston Villa were still in now Palace are pointing out John Textor has a significant stake in the club but has no input into how it problem for them is the rule is there. Uefa has to make a judgement on a particularly tricky issue knowing if the outcome does not suit any party, they can go to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) with an has already upheld a Fifa decision to kick Mexican club Leon out of the Club World Cup for transgressing stated multi-club ownership regulations.
The Guardian
29 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Two men jailed for life for supplying car bomb that killed Daphne Caruana Galizia
Two men have been sentenced to life in prison for supplying the car bomb that killed the anti-corruption journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in Malta eight years ago. The sentencing on Tuesday of Robert Agius and Jamie Vella, reported to be members of the island's criminal underworld, marked a significant step in the long campaign to bring those charged with Caruana Galizia's murder to justice. Her death in October 2017 sparked outrage across Europe and embroiled Malta's governing party in accusations of a coverup, ultimately leading to the resignation of the prime minister Joseph Muscat. Prosecutors have brought charges against seven people, including a millionaire businessman who is still awaiting trial. Agius and Vella, who had pleaded not guilty, were sentenced after their conviction on Friday last week. Jurors returned an 8-1 verdict after a trial that lasted more than six weeks. They were found to have taken payment for supplying the device, which was hidden in a children's shoe box and planted under the seat of the journalist's car. It was detonated remotely as she drove away from her home. Under Maltese law, those serving life sentences remain in prison until death. They are not eligible for parole or any other form of early release. Prosecutors had argued on Tuesday that the punishment should send a strong message to the public, both locally and internationally. Press freedom groups across Europe have followed the case closely. 'We hope that today's sentences will be a step towards a safer world for journalists by signalling to potential killers that there are heavy penalties to pay when a journalist is murdered,' Caruana Galizia's family said in a statement. 'The car bomb attack that killed Daphne sent shock waves through Maltese society that reverberated around the world. Her assassination created a sense in society that the people behind her murder were sure of their impunity and that the institutions that were duty-bound to protect her and society had failed.' Two men accused of planting and detonating the device, brothers George and Alfred Degiorgio, are serving 40-year jail terms after pleading guilty. A third man, Vince Muscat, who also admitted his role in the murder, is serving 15 years after turning state's evidence. Melvin Theuma, a taxi driver who claims he acted as middleman, secured a presidential pardon in exchange for giving evidence and is living under police protection. Sign up to This is Europe The most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment after newsletter promotion Yorgen Fenech, the heir to a casino and hotels group, was arrested and charged with complicity to kill Caruana Galizia in November 2019. He denies the charges. Delays in bringing the case before a jury have allowed his lawyers to successfully argue for bail, and he was released in February after pledging €50m (£42m) in cash and shares as security. Because they pleaded not guilty, Vella and Agius were the first among the accused to actually stand trial. They were arrested in 2021, based on evidence provided by Muscat. His testimony was crucial in trial, which heard from 157 witnesses, including the victim's families and members of the FBI, which had assisted local police with the investigation. The court heard that the original plan was to shoot the journalist, with Vella providing the hitmen with rifles and an AK-47. The plans were changed, however, and the killers opted for a bomb instead. It was placed in her car during the night and detonated remotely the next day, using a command sent via text message by George Degiorgio while he was cruising aboard a motor boat. Prosecutors told the court that the motive for the murder was Caruana Galizia's 'journalistic work'. In the same trial, Vella was convicted of complicity in a second, unrelated murder – the killing in 2015 of a Maltese lawyer, Carmel Chircop. Robert Agius's brother Adrian and George Degiorgio were also found guilty of complicity in the same crime.
Telegraph
31 minutes ago
- Telegraph
The SNP's blockade of nuclear power in Scotland is out of date
In a last throw of the dice, the SNP tried to undercut the UK Government's plan for a nuclear energy future by insisting that they would concentrate on wind and solar power to keep the lights on in Scotland ... without nuclear power. It was all a bit pathetic. Even before Ed Milliband, the Energy Secretary, had finished his oration on the UK's welcome new energy policy, the 'flat earthers' in the SNP and Greens were out in force denouncing what they claim were the dangers of nuclear power. And what was most pathetic was the fact that renewable power will probably always play a part in Britain's energy needs – after all, Mr Milliband is a fan – alongside a new £14-billion nuclear programme. But with an SNP Government, only renewables will count; no nuclear allowed is to be their policy. What's wrong with both, asks the man and woman in the street? The answer is simple: John Swinney's 'die in a ditch' dislike of nuclear power may be legendary but it is also outdated at a time when the Russian invasion of Ukraine has threatened the world's oil and gas supplies. And the recent power shutdown in Spain, which also affected Portugal and parts of France, has raised serious questions about renewables such as wind and solar power. In spite of this, the First Minister has often declared that he 'never had and never will' support investment in nuclear power plants. This puts him in direct opposition to the UK's energy plan, and also without a cogent policy for how he would keep Scotland's lights on. His view, however, is not just opposed by Labour and Conservatives, but even by SNP supporters. A recent opinion survey suggested that a majority now believe that their party's stance is, at the very least, 'unrealistic'. It has always looked hypocritical for Scotland to benefit from nuclear power when its SNP Government continued to oppose it, and the rest of the UK shouldered the burden, But this attitude now looks perverse. UK energy policy the preserve of Westminster, but the Scottish Government retains power over planning – SNP ministers have used planning controls to block the construction of any new nuclear plants in Scotland. They did this despite one of Scotland's two ageing nuclear power stations, the Hunterston B plant in North Ayrshire, shutting down in January 2022. And Torness, which still accounts for around 15 per cent of Scotland's electricity generation, is due to close in 2030. Ian Murray, Labour's Scottish Secretary, posted on X: 'The SNP block on new nuclear is costing Scotland jobs and investment.' Michael Shanks, the energy minister and twice recent victor over SNP candidates in Rutherglen, echoed Mr Murray's pledge that an incoming Labour Scottish Government next May would abolish the SNP's opposition to nuclear. First of all, however, Labour must win that election to the Holyrood Parliament. Around 20,000 Scottish jobs were already dependent on the nuclear power industry and 150 Scottish firms were working on the Hinkley Point C plant. Mr Shanks added that many more jobs would be in the pipeline for Scotland with a Scottish Government that 'unashamedly backs nuclear power'. The energy situation is bound to play a massive part in next year's Scottish Parliament election. How strange that Labour will be saying that both renewables and nuclear will play a part in keeping the lights on, while the SNP will insist that only half of that equation is enough.
