Cyber attackers also benefit from AI

AI is not the only factor driving new forms of cyber attacks on companies and their IT infrastructure. It is advisable to keep a close eye on how this ‘market’ develops and to prepare effectively for the long term.

This is because the technological approaches used by attackers are advancing at the same pace as technologies and AI are developing in our world. Read the story from our example in the cover story of the German journal IT Security, issue 4/2025. The publisher and our partner, IT Security Online, makes it clear once again in Sebastian Frank's foreword in the new print edition: ransomware protection is and remains an issue in view of the continuing rise in cybercrime.

Systemic risk: cybercrime

The German journal IT Security issue 4/2025, focusing on ‘Malware | Ransomware’, highlights the continuing danger posed by this criminal activity on the internet and the fact that cyber attacks no longer only affect individual large corporations in its cover story by Markus Stumpf and technical article by Andreas Wagener from Empalis, as well as in other articles.

As editor Sebastian Frank points out, ransomware is now a systemic risk: ‘In many small and medium-sized enterprises, basic protection and occasional IT maintenance are no longer sufficient. It is precisely here that the discrepancy between the threat situation and the level of security threatens to become a factor that jeopardises the very existence of the industry.’

This means not only that without strategic resilience programmes, companies face the threat of shutdown, but also that entire value chains are at risk. Every company nowadays is well advised to invest in cyber-resilient IT (backup) architectures, as this provides lasting protection not only for the company itself, but also for the relevant economic sectors. After all, it is no longer a question of if, but when an attack will occur.

Empalis' articles can be found in the magazine

• On p. 8: Cover story: ‘Cyber resilience against ransomware: HOW COMPANIES MINIMISE DAMAGE AND DOWNTIME’ (written in German) by our author Markus Stumpf, Business Development Manager at Empalis Consulting GmbH
• On p. 15: Technical article, supplementing the above article: ‘How modern backup systems protect companies from total failure: THE LAST BASTION’ (written in German), Andreas Wagener, Head of IT Security at Empalis Consulting GmbH

The English translation will follow these days on our Website.

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