These are the 4 biggest fears of (Swiss) companies

There is a clear trend in the new edition of the annual international ‘Risk Barometer’ of the industrial and business insurer Allianz Commercial.

1st place: hacker

Criminal hackers remain the biggest concern for companies in Switzerland and worldwide.

According to the “Risk Barometer”, criminal hackers are also abusing language models powered by artificial intelligence, which have caused an international sensation since the public launch of ChatGTP in the fall of 2022. Cybercriminals use AI applications, among other things, for larger and faster attacks with blackmail software (“ransomware”), for programming new malware and for less easily recognizable phishing emails and forgeries.

Place 2: Ransomware

In second place in the “Risk Barometer” are business interruptions – both categories are closely linked, as hacker attacks with blackmail software often paralyze operations. The company published the report on Tuesday in Munich.

“The increase in ransomware attacks in 2023 was enormous,” said Jens Krickhahn, head of the cyber division at Allianz Commercial. In the first half of the year alone, the number of claims increased by more than half. The authors of the ‘Risk Barometer’ assume that the wave of cybercrime will continue into 2024.

Place 3: State intervention

According to the “Risk Barometer”, natural disasters rank third worldwide. Not so in Switzerland: companies in this country were concerned about legal changes, such as tariffs, sanctions or protectionist efforts. Last year this category ranked fifth.

4th place: Shortage of skilled workers

The shortage of skilled workers is also greater in Switzerland than internationally. As the evaluation shows, this was seen as the fourth greatest risk. The risk of skilled labor shortages ranks tenth globally.

Who was interviewed?

Last fall, Allianz Commercial surveyed executives, security professionals, insurance brokers and other risk experts from 92 countries, both from external companies and associations and from within the company. More than a third – 1,340 in total – of the participants work for large companies with annual revenues of more than half a billion dollars.

Sources

(dsc/sda/dpa)