In the new edition of the annual international “risk barometer” from the industrial and corporate insurer Allianz Commercial, cyber attacks are once again in first place. In second place are business interruptions – both categories are closely linked, as hacker attacks with blackmail software often paralyze operations. The company published the report on Tuesday in Munich.
Natural disasters rank third worldwide. However, not in Switzerland: According to the “Risk Barometer”, companies in this country were concerned about changes in laws, such as tariffs, sanctions or protectionist efforts. Last year, this category ranked fifth.
The shortage of skilled workers is also higher in Switzerland than internationally. It was perceived as the fourth greatest risk, as the evaluation shows. The risk of a shortage of skilled workers ranks tenth worldwide.
Last fall, Allianz Commercial surveyed executives, security professionals, insurance brokers and other risk experts from 92 countries, both from external companies and associations and from within the company. More than a third – 1,340 in total – of the participants work for large companies with annual sales of more than half a billion dollars.
Cybercrime wave
According to the “Risk Barometer”, criminal hackers are also taking advantage of language models driven by artificial intelligence, which have been causing an international sensation since the public launch of ChatGTP in autumn 2022. Cybercriminals use AI applications, among other things, for larger and faster attacks with blackmail software (“ransomware”), for programming new malware and for less easily recognizable phishing emails and forgeries.
“However, the increase in ransomware attacks in 2023 was enormous,” said Jens Krickhahn, head of the cyber division at Allianz Commercial. In the first half of the year alone, the number of claims increased by more than half. The authors of the “Risk Barometer” assume that the wave of cybercrime will continue in 2024.
2024-01-16 02:56:58
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