Cybercrime is becoming increasingly common. A survey by the consultancy KPMG among 1,158 Austrian companies shows that last year more than every second company (54 percent) fell victim to so-called disinformation campaigns, and 42 percent even fell victim to them several times. There has also been a shift in the types of attacks; the frequency of so-called deepfakes has increased by approximately 119 percent. One in six cyber attacks was successful.
Disinformation campaigns are increasingly used by attackers as a distraction: Companies – perfectly orchestrated by the attackers – are deliberately placed in an exceptional situation that requires the full attention of employees and crisis management, while the cyber attack can take place completely unnoticed in the background, explains KPMG partner Robert Lamprecht out on Wednesday.
Boom in deepfakes
Deepfakes are also becoming increasingly common. This is realistic-looking video, audio, or image content created or edited using artificial intelligence. However, the most common are phishing attacks, malware and CEO/CFO fraud, where attackers manipulate companies into transferring money using a false identity. Ransomware attacks that encrypt data and then demand a ransom to release it have become less common in the past year, but survey results show that one in three companies (33 percent) have paid such ransom demands at least once. That was considerably more than the year before.
The KPMG survey “Cybersecurity in Austria” was conducted for the ninth time this year in February and March among representatives of small, medium and large companies from various sectors.
According to the research, cyber attacks are also becoming increasingly accurate: while last year one in ten attacks was successful, in the current study this was one in six. On the one hand, companies are better equipped when it comes to cybersecurity, but at the same time the perpetrators are also arming themselves and looking at the measures taken, among other things. The attackers would become more professional and their technical resources more effective. Established protection mechanisms and awareness measures are no longer as effective under these new circumstances, says KPMG partner Andreas Tomek. Investments in cybersecurity are necessary for survival.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
