Top managers and politicians in Germany see the threat situation in cyberspace at a record level.

In addition to classic hacker attacks and data theft, decision-makers are particularly afraid of manipulating opinions through fake or inaccurate messages.

This emerges from the “Cyber ​​Security Report 2021”, which was published on Tuesday by the opinion research institute Allensbach and the auditing company Deloitte in Berlin.

According to this, 77 percent of MPs and executives see data fraud as the highest cyber risk for people in Germany.

Two years ago this value was 70 percent.

Concerns about fake news also rose to a new record high: 75 percent of those surveyed see a risk that public opinion is manipulated through fake or inaccurate news.

Accelerated by the corona pandemic, the election campaign is partially shifting online.

The concern about the manipulation of public opinion through fake news is correspondingly great.

Social media rather positive

"Information, opinion-forming and social debates are changing through digitization and thus also the democratic culture," explained Renate Köcher, managing director of the Allensbach Institute for Demoscopy.

"That offers opportunities, but it also entails considerable risks, especially when it comes to forming opinions before elections."

Despite concerns about fake news, filter bubbles and shit storms, the decision-makers have a rather positive view of social media: Most executives from medium-sized and large companies (58 percent) and the majority of the MEPs surveyed (60 percent) see it as opportunities rather than risks.

However, the increasing influence of Facebook, Twitter & Co. on the formation of political opinion is viewed critically.

For 55 percent of MPs, the risks to democracy outweigh the risks in social media (2019: 50 percent).

86 percent of the MPs rate filter bubbles as a very great or great danger to democracy.

The values ​​for so-called shit storms, i.e. avalanche-like negative criticism in social networks, blogs or comment functions on websites, are significantly lower.

15 percent of business leaders report that their companies have already fallen victim to a shit storm.

Large companies with 1000 or more employees are affected more often than the average.

22 percent have had at least one such incident in the past.

Every second MP exposed to Shitstorm

Compared to companies, MPs are much more often affected by shitstorms.

Almost every second MP (49 percent) has already been exposed to a shit storm at least once.

Eight years after the revelations of US whistleblower Edward Snowden, who uncovered a far-reaching surveillance program by US and British intelligence agencies, concerns about government surveillance are receding.

Currently, 48 percent of those questioned are still afraid of surveillance from countries such as the USA or China.

In 2017 this value was still 54 percent.

Nine percent currently fear surveillance by the German state; in 2017, 21 percent feared domestic spying.