Last year, police authorities in this country recorded 136,865 cases of cyber crime. Although this is 6.5 percent less than in 2021, it is still too early to sound the all-clear. Only the domestic crimes recorded in the police crime statistics (PKS) decreased. At the same time, the number of so-called foreign crimes increased significantly by eight percent compared to 2021. These are cyber crimes that cause damage in Germany, but where the location of the perpetrators is abroad or unknown. These offences have not yet been included in the PKS. In addition, it can be assumed that there is an enormous number of unreported cases of cybercrime. According to the current “Bundeslagebild Cyber Crime” (Federal Situation Report Cyber Crime) of the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), there were more foreign offences than domestic offences in 2022. A disproportionately high number of foreign crimes were recorded in the area of cyber crime (almost 25 percent). Of these, only cases in the lower single-digit percentage range could be solved.
This is one of the reasons why the BKA situation report states: “In the interpretation of the police case figures, the internationality of the perpetrators must be reflected even more strongly in the future. Consequently, the rising number of cases of foreign crimes must be added to the lower figures of the domestic PCS and included in the overall assessment. Corresponding measures have already been initiated.