Advertisement

Police struggle as cybercrime hits record

The Local Germany
The Local Germany - [email protected]
Police struggle as cybercrime hits record
Photo: DPA

Cybercrime in Germany rose to a record level in 2013 to 64,500 cases, but only one in four crimes are solved and police unions believe as many as 90 percent of internet crimes go unreported.

Advertisement

P { margin-bottom: 0.08in; }

Police class cybercrime as computer fraud, computer sabotage and intercepting data. Computer sabotage was particularly rife in 2013 and German authorities are having a hard time keeping on top of the crime boom, the Welt reported on Tuesday. Only one in ten cases of computer sabotage are solved.

And cyber attacks by digital racketeers are also becoming increasingly frequent. Crimes are reported but seldom lead to a successful conclusion, according to the latest Crime Statistics report, which Interior Minister Thomas de Mazière will present in Berlin on Wednesday.

Investigators counted about 64,500 cases of internet crime nationwide last year, an increase of 0.7 percent on 2012. In 2013, only every fourth case was solved.

And police unions said many cyber crimes went unreported. Rainer Wendt, head of German police union DPolG, told Welt: “For some people, the shame of their own stupidity and greed is the driving motive of silence."

And André Schulz, the chairman of the police union BDK, estimated the number of unreported cases at 90 percent .

"The perpetrators often sit abroad. Their crimes are therefore not statistically recorded in Germany,” he said. "In many departments the investigators still have no or a very slow internet connection."

SEE ALSO: Police blame gangs for burglary rise

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also