Only 44% say they use two-factor authentication. In 2023, the proportion was still half (50%) of respondents. Automatic updates were also still activated by 46% in 2023, while 43% regularly carried out updates manually. In 2025, both shares had fallen to 36% each.
BSI President Claudia Plattner: “Cybersecurity affects us all – privately, professionally and socially. Especially in the current geopolitical situation, we need to take cyber security much more seriously: This applies to the state, to the manufacturers of IT products and to each and every one of us!”
The growing lack of concern among the population is matched by a high level of concern: At seven percent, slightly fewer people than in previous years say they have been affected by cybercrime in the last twelve months. However, the proportion of people who have suffered financial loss as a result of cybercrime is by no means declining: two percent of respondents suffered financial loss as a result of cybercrime in the previous year alone.
Dr. Stefanie Hinz, State Police President and Chairwoman of the ProPK: “Cybercrime is part of many people’s everyday lives. Whether in the form of fraudulent emails or online shopping scams. Through intensive prevention work, the police help to make perpetrators’ strategies public so that they are as ineffective as possible. If you are affected, file a complaint. Prevention, education and consistent prosecution make a decisive contribution to making the digital world safer.”
But how do you proceed in an emergency? More than half of respondents (51%) would like information on this. The BSI and ProPK are therefore jointly publishing two new and three revised “Checklists for emergencies” with recommendations for action in the event of a malware infection or online banking fraud, among other things. The checklists and the report on the Cybersecurity Monitor 2025 are available on the BSI and ProPK websites.
About the Cybersecurity Monitor
The Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and the Federal and State Police Crime Prevention Program (ProPK) jointly survey the information and protection behaviour of the population and how they are affected by cybercrime. This year’s survey was conducted from February 3 – 7, 2025. A total of 3,061 people aged 16 and over were surveyed nationwide and the results were weighted based on the population structure characteristics of age, gender, federal state and education in Germany.
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Further links
👉 www.bsi.bund.de
Photo: pixabay
