MUNICH (dpa-AFX) - The vast majority of companies in Germany and many other countries fear a cyber attack. In a company survey conducted by reinsurer Munich Re in 15 countries, 72 percent of the participating managing directors and board members said they were worried or very worried about possible cyber attacks, as the Munich-based DAX-listed company announced on Friday. More than half admitted that their respective company had already been attacked by cyber criminals in the past. Data theft came first, followed by online fraud and blackmail using encryption software.

In December, Munich Re had a total of 7500 managers and employees surveyed by the statistics company Statista; almost 40% of the participants were "C-level" managers in the upper echelons of their respective companies. However, not all managers in all countries were equally concerned: in Sweden it was only 35 percent, whereas in Spain it was 90 percent. In Germany, the figure was just under two thirds at 65%, roughly comparable to the USA, the UK or Japan.

An even larger majority of 87% felt that their own company was inadequately protected against cyber attacks, and in this respect the differences from country to country were less pronounced: In Germany and China at the top of the table, 95 percent each affirmed this, while in Italy at the other end it was still 80 percent.

Munich Re has a vested interest in the topic, as the Group offers insurance against cyberattacks and expects the global premium income of the insurance industry in the cyber sector to double in the coming years: from 14 billion dollars in 2023 to 29 billion in 2029. However, the authors also mention in the report that a number of companies have not taken out cyber insurance due to high costs or other reasons./cho/DP/he