GERMANY Trends and Developments Contributed by: Josefine Spengler and Svetlana Ulrici, Annerton
not only to implement security measures but also to explain and justify how cyber-risks are identified, pri - oritised and managed. The Rise of Supply Chain and Third-Party Risk Supply chain cybersecurity is one of the defining top - ics of the German market in 2026. Digital intercon - nection between manufacturers, service providers and logistics partners means that vulnerabilities in one organisation can rapidly affect others. Attackers increasingly exploit weaker links in the supply chain to gain indirect access to larger targets. German companies are therefore reassessing how they select, contract with and oversee third-party providers. Cybersecurity requirements are no longer limited to IT vendors but extend to all partners with access to systems, data or facilities. Due diligence processes increasingly include security question - naires, audits and ongoing monitoring. A key challenge lies in managing complex, multi- tier supply chains. Organisations often lack visibil - ity beyond their immediate contractual partners. To address this, companies prioritise critical suppliers and apply tiered security requirements based on risk exposure and business relevance. Cloud Dependency, Concentration Risks and Sovereign Cloud Initiatives Cloud computing remains a fundamental driver of digital transformation in Germany, but in 2026 organi - sations are reassessing their cloud strategies with a much stronger focus on risk, resilience and control. For many companies, cloud services now support core business functions such as production planning, customer platforms, payment processing or data ana - lytics. As a result, cloud outages or security incidents can have immediate and severe operational and finan - cial consequences. A key concern is growing concentration risk. Many organisations rely heavily on a small number of global hyperscalers, creating dependencies that are difficult to mitigate in practice. In 2026, companies increas - ingly recognise that technical redundancy alone is insufficient if contractual, organisational or opera - tional dependencies remain unresolved. Business
continuity planning therefore increasingly includes realistic assessments of how quickly workloads can be migrated, replaced or restored in the event of pro - longed cloud disruptions. At the same time, sovereign cloud initiatives play an increasingly important role in German cloud strate - gies. Sovereign cloud models aim to offer greater transparency, local control and alignment with domes - tic expectations regarding data handling and opera - tional governance. These offerings are particularly relevant for sensitive workloads, critical infrastructure operators and companies with heightened security or confidentiality requirements. Rather than replacing public cloud services entirely, sovereign cloud solu - tions are typically used as part of hybrid or multi-cloud strategies. Cloud governance in 2026 is therefore less about technical architecture and more about organisational capability. Companies focus on clearly defined respon - sibilities, contractual clarity and tested co-ordination with cloud providers. Misunderstandings regarding shared responsibility models remain a frequent cause of incidents. Organisations that invest in governance, exit planning and realistic crisis co-ordination are sig - nificantly better positioned to manage cloud-related risks effectively. Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a Catalyst for New Cyber-Risks AI is reshaping the cybersecurity landscape in Germa - ny in profound ways. From an attacker’s perspective, AI significantly lowers the cost and effort required to conduct sophisticated attacks. In 2026, AI-generated phishing emails, voice messages and even video- based social engineering are increasingly difficult to distinguish from legitimate communications, even for experienced users. AI also enables attackers to scale their operations. Automated reconnaissance tools can analyse large volumes of publicly available data to identify vulner - able targets and tailor attacks accordingly. This allows threat actors to move faster, adapt more dynamically and exploit weaknesses before traditional security measures can react. As a result, organisations face
160 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook