Estonia Has Europe's Highest Risk of Property Crime

Estonian companies face the world's greatest pressure from phishing attacks, while they are also concerned about the rise in crime. Nearly a third of security directors predict an increase in property crime within the next year.

The study results outline two significant areas where Estonian companies stand out negatively in Europe:

• Phishing and Misinformation: Estonian companies are the most frequent targets of phishing and misinformation in Europe. As many as 84% of Estonian companies have encountered phishing attempts in the last 12 months, which is considerably higher than the European (70%) and global average (75%).
• Forecast for Property Crime: Security chiefs predict a significant threat to company assets in the next 12 months. 31% of Estonian security directors anticipate a property crime attack against their company within the next year – this is the highest level in Europe for this indicator (European average 23%).

"On the one hand, due to IT development, it is easy to arrange everything through e-channels in Estonia, but at the same time, the risk of various cyberattacks is also greater. In the case of property crimes, we see that many thefts still occur in stores, and the number of attempted thefts remains high at construction sites and other business premises. Private clients should certainly also be vigilant, as, according to our data, the number of burglaries has increased, especially in areas with detached homes," commented Priit Sarapuu, Chairman of the Board of G4S Estonia.

Additional Findings and Board Security

• Economic Instability: 47% of Estonian security chiefs consider economic instability to be the primary threat to their operations in the next 12 months – this is the second-highest figure in Europe after Belgium (European average 41%).
• High Security Perception among Executives in Estonia: 40% of respondents from Estonia found that the threat of violence directed against executives has increased in the last two years, which essentially corresponds to the European and global average (42%).
• Future Trends: Half (50%) of Estonian security chiefs plan to increase their security budget in the next 12 months (European average 58%), setting the improvement of threat detection capabilities as the main priority.

The study was conducted by G4S and surveyed 2,352 security chiefs in 31 countries. The respondents were executives from medium and large global companies with a combined turnover exceeding $25 trillion. The Estonian data is based on the responses of 58 security chiefs.