A positive turnaround in cybersecurity is not on the horizon—statistics have shown a continuous rise in cyber risks for years. This trend affects not only businesses but also entire nations, as seen in cases of blatant election manipulation by Russia in Moldova and Romania.
Given the increasing threat of cyberattacks, investments in IT security remain high. In 2024, the German economy increased its cybersecurity spending by 13.8%, reaching EUR 11.2 billion for the first time—surpassing the EUR 10bn mark.
These figures align with public perception: According to the latest Bitkom survey conducted earlier this year with 1,115 respondents aged 16 and older, concerns about cyber threats are growing. 70% of Germans consider cybercrime a major risk, and the same percentage believes Germany is poorly prepared. Additionally, 61% fear cyberwarfare, and 64% think the country is not adequately equipped to handle such threats.
Notable Cyber Hacks of 2024
January 2024: Russian hackers attacked 65 Australian government departments and agencies and stole 2.5 million documents in Australia’s largest government cyberattack. Hackers infiltrated an Australian law firm that worked with the government to gain access to government files.
January 2024: Russian hackers launched a ransomware attack against Sweden’s only digital service provider for government services. The attack affected operations for 120 government offices and came as Sweden prepared to join NATO. Sweden expects disruptions to continue for several weeks.
February 2024: A data breach of French health insurance companies affected 33 million French citizens, or nearly half the country’s population. The attack compromised sensitive birth date, social security, and marital status information, but not medical history. The French data protection agency opened an investigation to determine if the companies complied with cybersecurity guidelines under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations.
March 2024: Breach of Switzerland’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). NCSC confirmed that leaded data from a May 2023 breach included 65,000 documents from the Federal Administration. The documents contained sensitive personal data, classified information, and passwords, and were from Switzerland’s federal police, judiciary, and migration offices. Swiss officials had originally assessed that breach only impacted non-government documents.
March 2024: Russian hackers leaked an intercepted conversation between German military officials about the country’s support for Ukraine. In the call, the head of Germany’s Air Force discussed the possibility of supplying Taurus missiles to Ukraine and commented on German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s hesitance to send the missiles. Germany announced it would investigate the incident and believes the leak was intended to inflame divisions in Germany.
May 2024: Emails of Germany’s Social Democrats hacked. Germany accused Russian hackers of breaking into the emails of Germany’s Social Democrats, the leading party in its governing coalition, and recalled its ambassador from the country. The campaign started in March 2022 when hackers exploited vulnerabilities in Microsoft Outlook to target the party’s executive committee, as well as German defense and aerospace companies.
June 2024: Ransomware attack in Indonesia’s national data center: Hackers deployed ransomware in Indonesia’s national data center which briefly disrupted a variety of immigration services, including immigration document management services at airports, and deleted information that was not backed up. The attack prompted Indonesia’s Director General of Informatics Applications at the Communications and Informatics Ministry to resign and initiated and a nation-wide audit of Indonesia’s national data centers.
July 2024, One of the Largest Cyber Hacks in the U.S. Healthcare Sector. Over 100 million individuals had their personal data—health insurance details, medical records, and Social Security numbers—exposed. Essential services across 80% of U.S. hospitals and 60% of pharmacies ground to a halt, all while Change Healthcare paid a staggering $22 million ransom to regain access.
October 2024: Cyberattack on Cellphones of the Trump-Vance Presidential Campaign: Chinese hackers hacked cellphones used by senior members of the Trump-Vance presidential campaign, including phones used by former President Donald Trump and JD Vance as well as people affiliated with the Harris-Walz campaign. It is unclear what data may have been accessed. The FBI is investigating the incident.
November 2024, Chinese Cyberattack on Global Telecom Providers: Chinese hackers, dubbed Salt Typhoon, breached at least eight U.S. telecommunications providers, as well as telecom providers in more than twenty other countries, as part of a wide-ranging espionage and intelligence collection campaign (amongst others: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Lumen Technologies). Researchers believe the attack began up to two years ago and still infects telecom networks. Attackers stole customer call data and law enforcement surveillance request data and compromised private communications of individuals involved in government or political activity.
December 2024, Cyberattack on the Romanian Presidential Election: Russian hackers targeted Romania’s election systems with over 85,000 cyberattacks and leaked credentials on Russian hacker forums. The attacks came just before Romania’s presidential vote, with attacks persisting through election day.
