Due to Corona, lockdowns and working from home, people in NRW did even more things online last year. Criminals also take advantage of this. The number of cybercrime cases rose sharply in 2021. Particularly far-reaching: cases of digital blackmail.
Düsseldorf (dpa/lnw) - Due to the corona pandemic, among other things, the number of cybercrime cases in NRW rose sharply in 2021 according to the State Criminal Police Office. With 30,115 cases, there were around 24 percent more than in 2020. The total damage rose to around 24.2 million euros, according to the recently published LKA situation report on cybercrime. A high number of unreported cases exist in the case of damage caused by digital extortion.
In connection with so-called "ransomware" - i.e. malware - 333 cases were officially counted last year. Hackers use "ransomware" to encrypt the servers of companies or institutions and demand a ransom. Surprisingly, hospitals were affected in 125 cases. 198 times company.
For companies, however, the number of unreported cases is probably much higher, according to the LKA. The investigators suspect that many companies pay - and do not inform the police. But public institutions were also blackmailed. The situation picture gives the Witten city administration and the Wesel district administration as an example. Just a few days ago, the University of Duisburg-Essen fell victim to a hacker attack and blackmail. The university filed a complaint and made the process public.
"Overall, a high level of professionalism among the perpetrators can be observed," according to the LKA. This is how the hacker groups would divide up the work: One would take care of the development and marketing of the malware - which you can buy on the dark web for your own use. Others are responsible for the infiltration and correspondence with those affected. "In some cases, the latter takes place in the style of an IT support service, which guides the victims through the process of paying the ransom and restarting the IT systems," says the situation report.
Individual citizens are now increasingly affected by phishing or smishing. Smishing is derived from SMS and phishing and means that after clicking in a fake SMS you get malware on your cell phone. In the crime area of data spying and data stolen goods, the number of cases more than doubled in 2021.
According to the LKA, the total number of suspects identified increased by a good 17 percent to 6056. The most frequently recorded crimes included computer fraud and data spying.
The LKA also blames the corona pandemic for the general increase in cybercrime offenses: Large parts of the population would have spent “significantly more time” using online services: “With a broader use of digital services, e.g. online banking and shopping, opened up a wide field for criminal activities for cybercriminals."
