Germany is the European country most affected by ransomware attacks, a German cybersecurity expert has said, adding that the incidents often trace back to Russia.
Christian Dörr, a cybersecurity expert at the Hasso Plattner Institute (HPI) in Potsdam, made the remarks ahead of a national cybersecurity conference in the city on Wednesday.
Ransomware attacks involve malicious software that encrypts data and systems, with cybercriminals seeking to extort ransom payments from victims.
"Germany is Europe's hotspot for ransomware," Dörr said. The growth in such attacks was nearly twice as high as in France, the second most-affected EU country, he said.
Dörr said the ransom demands from criminals average in the hundreds of thousands of euros. On top of that, the attacks often result in weeks of downtime which can drive companies into bankruptcy, he said.
The expert said Germany lags behind on cybersecurity awareness, despite having numerous highly innovative companies and global market leaders that make it an attractive target for valuable information. "We have been falling behind in global comparisons for many years," he said.
He added that the largest percentage increase in attacks was currently being seen in public administration, where structural factors made good cybersecurity particularly difficult to implement.
Ransom payments are by far the highest in the health-care sector, Dörr said. Criminals steal not only business data but also sensitive patient health data, which is particularly valuable on the black market and can be used to extort patients a second time, he said.
Ransomware attacks have in the past temporarily paralysed hospitals, municipal administrations and transport operators.
