Cyber crimes in Germany down 6.5% in 2022, federal police say

WIESBADEN, Germany (Reuters) -Cyber crimes in Germany fell by 6.5% in 2022, federal police said on Wednesday, but the decline was not a "relief" as the attacks were more severe and those originating from overseas rose by more than 8%.

The economic damage was 203 billion euros ($221.59 billion), down slightly from last year, but still double that of 2019.

Authorities had been on high alert for cyber attacks and related crimes in the wake of Russia's war with Ukraine, and police said it remained a risk.

Germany registered 136,865 incidents last year, down from 146,363 in 2021, when cyber crimes had spiked more than 12% from 2020.

"It's sounds like a relief but it's not," said Martina Link, the vice president of Germany's BKA federal police.

She noted many of last year's attacks reached a more critical phase earlier in the process, meaning that the "quality" of the crimes rose in their severity even though the quantity declined.

The number of crimes with domestic targets but originating from outside Germany rose more than 8%.

($1 = 0.9161 euros)

(Reporting by Tom Sims, Editing by Miranda Murray, Friederike Heine and Sharon Singleton)