Companies in the crosshairs of hackers, regions most affected

Double-digit leap in reported cybercrimes by companies: +45.5% over a four-year period. By way of comparison, offences of all types affecting companies over the same period were up 10%. The ranking of the most affected regions sees Tuscany in first place, where cybercrime in the last four years has scored +88.3%. This is followed by Veneto (+63.7%), Marche (+56%), Puglia (+54.7%), Lazio (+53.2%), Emilia-Romagna (+53%), Piedmont (47%), and Lombardy (45.5%). This is revealed by a survey by Confartigianato, which found the trend of scams, frauds and online attacks suffered by entrepreneurs between 2019 and 2023. "From multinationals to small businesses, hackers spare no one," explains Confartigianato President Marco Granelli, "we need effective digital security regulations that can be easily applied by all business sizes and incentives to support investments to protect business data.

According to the craftsmen's association computer crimes account for 35.5% of crimes against companies. Thus, 15.8 per cent of Italian companies, compared to 21.5 per cent of the EU average, have experienced at least one IT incident with consequences such as the unavailability of ICT services, the destruction or disclosure of data on the dark web. However, Italian companies seem to be aware of the need to protect their data assets. Confartigianato points out, in fact, that 83.1% attach high importance to cybersecurity, a percentage that exceeds the European Union average (71.1%) and that places us in second place after Ireland. In 2024, 42.6% of companies invested in cybersecurity, including by adopting artificial intelligence tools. Despite this, only 32.2% of entrepreneurs adopt at least 7 of the 11 security measures monitored by Istat, a figure lower than the EU average of 38.5%. Hindering efforts to defend against cyber threats is the lack of adequate skills on the labour market. 22.8% of Italian companies report difficulties in finding personnel specialised in IT security, compared to 12% of the European average. In particular, companies are struggling to recruit system designers and administrators, which includes cyber security experts: 6,300 were needed in 2024, but 4,000 were difficult to find. Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta, Emilia Romagna, Veneto, Lazio, and Lombardy are the regions with the greatest shortage of these professionals. 'Digitalisation,' Granelli emphasises, 'if not adequately protected, exposes companies to increasing risks. Knowledge, practical tools and resources are needed to defend themselves. But above all, cybersecurity must be considered a fundamental pillar of innovation and economic growth'..